The Pyrrhia Prophecy: Part One
by The Anonymouse2
Summary: A new prophecy is afoot, the Pyrrhia Prophecy. Seven dragons who will unite to save the queens from a mysterious assassin. A new group, the Prophets, are eager to make this prophecy come true. No matter what. Fourteen dragons, each believing that they and their friends are destined for greatness. Nobody else is suited to the prophecy. Or so they think.
1. Chapter 1-Crystal

**Disclaimer; I do not own Wings of Fire, including but not limited to the tribes, Pyrrhia, any and all characters created by Tui T. Sutherland, etc. However, I do have the rights to my original characters, although I have no objections if your original character happens to have the same name as mine. Just make it a coincidence, okay? This is my first fanfiction, but not my first story. In fact, I am a published author with one book available online...somewhere...I'm not sure what it's called but I know it's there! Anyway, good reading and may you not die in horror! It might be kind of predictable, but bear with me here. I'll try to update with chapters regularly. Have fun!**

 **The Pyrrhia Prophecy**

 _For ten years peace swept the land_

 _In the kingdoms of ice, rain, sea, mud, sky and sand_

 _Jade Mountain was saved from a dragon of spite_

 _Two prophecies have led to what is right_

 _But now new threats are in store_

 _The queens are being targeted, and more_

 _One by one, each will fall,_

 _Unless seven dragons unite to save us all_

 _An Icewing with scales of shimmering blue_

 _A Mudwing whose fire is always true_

 _A Nightwing whose voice has fled_

 _A Rainwing with claws of dread_

 _A Sandwing who can sense a lie_

 _A Seawing who will never fly_

 _A Skywing whose scales can withstand snow_

 _All of these dragons together will know_

 _Raised together from hatching_

 _Friendships must be strong_

 _To cease the snatching_

 _Of dragons that in the throne belong_

 _And despite a betrayal in the throng_

 _They will stop the one doing wrong_

 _And save the land of Pyrrhia_

 **Chapter One**

 **Crystal**

Crystal stood atop the mountain, scales gleaming brilliant blue in the sun. It felt like she was melting underneath the heavy heat, but it was worth it to feel like she was on top of the mountain, on top of the world. Serrated claws gripping the ground, she wondered how the Icewings had ever managed to hand her over to the "Prophets". Please. They couldn't predict someone falling off a cliff if they were the ones to push them. Clutching the grass even tighter, she remembered for the thousandth time that all the Prophets wanted to do was groom her into adulthood, so she could fly out into the world with her friends and save the queens. She growled deep in her throat. Ugh! She could just…

 _CRYSTAL!_

"Aaaaaargh!" She roared, jumping into the air. "Darkmystic, you startled me! You know not to…"

 _If you're saying something, you know I can't hear._ The voice in Crystal's head interrupted. _My mind only works one way, and anyway, Frost told me to call you. It's time to eat._

"Hmmmph!" Crystal grumbled. She would have said more, but no one could hear her, and anyway, she WAS hungry. Plus, complaining with no one to hear never got a good leader anywhere. So, assuming a stalwart frown, she strode down the mountain towards the cave she called home.

Storming into the cave, Crystal snorted a furious frosty cloud and positioned herself angrily in a corner. In the center of the cave, three her friends were hungrily munching on what used to be a cow. A chocolate Mudwing detached herself from the throng and came over to sit next to Crystal. She didn't say anything for a while, just looked at Crystal sympathetically.

"Do you want some food?" The Mudwing asked quietly.

"Not right now, Brook, I'll wait until the WILD BEASTS are finished." Crystal replied, purposefully raising her voice. A black head looked up, hurt.

 _Now, Crystal!_ Darkmystic pouted. _That's no way to talk about someone who called you in! If I hadn't, you would have missed dinner entirely!_

"You startled me." Crystal pointed out. "I was having a fine time, _quietly_ enjoying the view, when your _loud_ voice came clanging around inside my head!"

 _All right,_ Darkmystic said. _I apologize for startling you. But you know, Frost would have had my head if I didn't call you in! She's always so worried that someone will try to steal us. It's crazy!_ Having shared this opinion, Darkmystic retreated inside his head, a place that he normally kept private. But Crystal's spoken words had ignited the interest of the other dragons assembled.

"Now _what_ were you two talking about?" A sharp voice emerged from the fray, followed by a brilliant orange scaly head. "We could only hear what Crystal said, and a one-sided conversation is _not_ very interesting. So spill it."

"For your information, Flicker," Crystal smirked. "Today's topic was Frost." A snort emerged from the Skywing, followed by a cloud of smoke.

"HA! Frost. Never lets a single one of us forget how important we are to the prophecy, yet constantly reminds us how inferior we are to her tribe. Except for you, Crystal."

"Hey, being amazing isn't all fun and games. Whenever I do something wrong, she goes ballistic, berating me and telling me that I should do better, and that I have an obligation to my tribe to be better than everybody else. Which I am, but still…" As Crystal spoke, Brook nodded along encouragingly to both points. Deciding that the conversation needed to come to an end, Flicker tossed her head, blowing more smoke into the cave, and returned to eating the cow. Peering her square head, Brook eyed the carcass.

"Um, Crystal, the food's almost gone. Everybody else has already had quite enough. You should probably get in there and finish it off." Crystal nodded.

"Alright everyone! Are you done yet so that I can eat?" Obligingly, all the dragons nodded and backed away, Flicker with an exasperated eye roll.

"Honestly, Crystal, what's with the whole 'eating last' thing? It's _so_ melodramatic."

"Hey, if I try to eat while you all are, I'll probably get whacked in the face with a stray limb or something. Now let me at it." As Crystal dug into the remains of the cow, she noticed something. "Where are the others? You know, Scorpion, Siren, and Rhododendron? Also, where is all the supervision? Aren't the gaurdians afraid that we'll kill each other if we're left alone?" In response to her inquiry, Flicker stepped forwards with an explanation.

"Frost took those three out hunting for another cow, but not before having you called in. The other gaurdians are still at that meeting. Gosh, is it taking forever! I wonder what it's about…" Crystal smirked.

"Probably us. After all, we are the all important prophecy dragons." By this time, Crystal was full and the cow was gone. So it was a good thing that Frost arrived at just that moment with three other dragons trailing behind.

"Alright, since you four have already gorged yourself on _that_ cow, step back and let the others enjoy their catch." The huge Icewing ordered sharply, ridged claws scraping the floor as she moved to the side, allowing her wards to fly in. And they did. Flapping heavily, a husky Sandwing dragged another cow through the sky, while a sleek Seawing perched guiltily on his back. Nearby a bright yellow flash could be seen zipping around, chattering excitedly.

"OHMYGOSH, great job you guys, and, like, Siren, that was great considering that you don't have wings and can't fly. Also that's so strong of you, Scorpion, cause like that probably weighs alot because it's a BIG COW and we caught it all on our own, and did you see that flower, it was like the almost same color as my scales, but not my scales all of the time, just most of the time, cause they change colors, y'know? And OH LOOK there's the cave, we're almost there, just a little bit further, come on, you can do it, ooh pretty rock." The Sandwing, Scorpion, just grunted and flapped harder, determined to reach the cave and outrun the Rainwing's pesky chatter. Meanwhile the Seawing nodded along to the endless stream of conversation and looked for all the world like the last thing she wanted to do was be a burden because of her deformity. Luckily fate was merciful to poor Scorpion, and they swooped in for a landing barely a minute later. The cow landed with a thump on the stone floor, and Scorpion paused for a moment as Siren slid off and his cramped muscles rested.

"Rhododendron, you were absolutely NO HELP AT ALL. All you did was fly around and get distracted by shiny things, all the while talking like there was no tomorrow, which there won't be for you if you ever do that again!" He stated forcibly. Siren winced.

"Scorpion! Don't hurt her feelings!" Her voice was musical and gentle, lulling all the dragons present.

"Sorry." Scorpion mumbled shamefully. But his comment, however rude, had no effect on the tittery Rainwing.

"Huh? Did someone say something? HEY, somebody looks grumpy!" She tisked gleefully, looking at Crystal. "Were you on the mountaintop complaining to yourself about our destiny again?" The teasing words poured cheerfully out of Rhododendron's mouth, but made Frost turn her gaze skeptically on Crystal.

"Is this true? Are you having doubts about the merit of your future to fulfill the prophecy? Because you know, this is _the_ most important thing that you will _ever_ have to do in your insignificant lives!" Inwardly, Crystal groaned. _Here we go again._ You had to hand it to her, Frost was _very_ convinced that the Pyrrhia Prophecy and all the dragons in it would save Queen Snowdrift and the others, as well as the land of Pyrrhia. Frankly, Crystal herself was a skeptic. There had been prophecies before, and although they both came true, it was never in the way expected. Although she was not opposed to the idea of going out with her friends to save the world. They had all agreed that when it was time for them to be released, they would need one of them to lead them, and Crystal desperately wanted to be that dragon. She felt confident that with her in charge, all seven of them would gallantly fly around Pyrrhia, saving the queens and the world, and, above all, staying safe and together. It was just the prophecy part that she was unsure of. She would save the kingdoms her own way, thank you, no prophecy telling her what to do.

While all of this was rushing through her head, Frost was lecturing her, and, by extension, all of the dragons present, about the importance of the prophecy to the land. Crystal examined all of her friends one by one. Brook, who was trying to pay attention, but kept losing focus and retreating inside her head. Darkmystic, who for all the world looked the image of a perfect student, wings folded, staring at Frost, but everyone could tell that he was lost in that mute mind of his, thinking whatever it was that he thought. Rhododendron, still a vibrant yellow, who wasn't even trying to appear as if she was focusing, cheerfully eating and simultaneously playing a game with her tail. Scorpion, who was eyeing Frost shrewdly, making judgements in his mind while cautiously taking nibbles from his hard earned prey. Siren who was aptly listening to Frost's lecture, taking it in while envisioning their future and eating cow with shining eyes. And finally, Flicker, who stared eagerly at Frost when she was turned towards her, but, as soon as her back was turned, mocked her ruthlessly. As Crystal took all this in, she realized that if she was going to be stuck saving the world with six other dragons, she was glad that it was these six instead of anybody else.


	2. Chapter 2-Blizzard

**Chapter Two**

 **Blizzard**

Blizzard sat at the edge of a stream with his eyes closed.

"Ten…nine…eight…" Counting backwards from ten. He felt ridiculous. It was acceptable for the gaurdians to leave for a mysterious meeting without a word, but to leave the Rainwing in charge? Glitz had always been the least reasonable of the gaurdians, and giving her free rein over the prophecy dragons did not make her any more responsible. Less so, in fact. Now she was forcing them to engage in this childish game of hide and seek, claiming that it taught valuable skills. "Five…four…three…" Almost at the end of the count. Then all he had to do was find his friends, and he would be done with this foolish activity. "...one! Alright, I'm coming!" He shouted, eyes still closed.

"No, no, you have to say the proper words!" A voice cried next to him. Glitz. Emitting a long and suffering sigh, Blizzard opened his mouth again.

"Ready or not...ugh...here I come."

"Say it like you mean it!" Glitz yelped again. Gritting his teeth, again Blizzard uttered the hated words.

"Ready or not, here...grr...I come!" Before opening his eyes, he inclined his deep blue head questioningly.

"Yes, good enough, I suppose. Now get out there and find your friends!" Was the cheerful response from Glitz. Finally, Blizzard peeled back his eyelids, revealing his black eyes, and immediately scanned the landscape. Stream, Glitz, mud, tree, stream, more mud, tree cluster, rock. A boundary was drawn in the dirt, signaling the point that they could not hide past. Dropping on all fours, Blizzard began his search, starting at the rock. Walking around it, he noticed that it was pockmarked with huge indentions, just big enough for a dragon to hide in. Peering in each one in turn, he saw the glint of silver scales in the shadows of one particularly large crevice.

"AHA!" He cried. A pile of shadows jumped, startled, then morphed into a dragon, and a Nightwing slunk out of the hole.

 _You got me!_ A voice sounded in his mind. _Have you found anyone else?_ Blizzard shook his head.

"You're the first." The Nightwing grimaced.

 _Aw, shucks!_

"Sorry, Destiny. Why don't you wait by Glitz while I find the others? This shouldn't take too long."

 _Fine…_ The Nightwing tossed her head in shammed anger and stalked off towards the watching Rainwing.

Blizzard didn't waste time watching her leave. He still had five more dragons to find. He turned towards the cluster of trees. _Hmmm, seems as good a place to hide as any._ He thought. _Besides, it looks like just the kind of place a Rainwing would go. Trees, sunny spots, the works. So Macadamia, here I come!_ Blizzard entered the cluster and immediately felt the trees closing in on him. He hated tight places. They reminded him of... no. He wasn't even going to think about it. He shivered and breathed deeply. Icy walls...closing… _In, out. In, out. That's it. You can do this, Blizzard._ Still inhaling and exhaling at an exaggerated rate, he began combing through the plant life carefully. _If I were a Rainwing… well, they have prehensile tails… so… in the trees! Not on the ground, most likely. Here we go, then…_ Blizzard cocked his head upwards so that he had a good view of the trees' branches. Up ahead, he saw an unnatural bend in a branch. "Found you!" He exclaimed.

"How do I know that? Where am I?" Came a voice from the branch. Blizzard stared at the source of the voice skeptically. "Oh, shoot!" It cried. A Rainwing shimmered into view, perched precariously on the branch. "Am I the last one?" Blizzard smirked.

"Hardly. You're the second."

"Alright...I assume that I'm supposed to go wait by Glitz?" Blizzard nodded affirmative. "Okay, then...good luck!" And with that, Macadamia the Rainwing disappeared from view. Blizzard was relieved. The sooner he was out of the constricting branches, the better. Nearly running, he scrambled out of the tree cluster and back to the starting point. Two dragons found, four to go.

Next, Blizzard decided to find his Mudwing friend. Obviously the best hiding place for him would be in one of the many patches of mud along the stream banks. He glanced ruefully at his glittering blue scales. They were so clean. But a dragon's got to do what a dragon's got to do. Lowering his snout, he began rifling through the mud. He could have searched for a long time, if he hadn't seen a bubble pop on the surface of a particularly deep puddle. _Bubble? That doesn't make any sense, Mudwings can hold their breath for up to an hour, unless…_ Blizzard smiled, setting his talon down near the site of the bubble. "Another one down! Or should I say two more? Monsoon, Cactusflower?" Rising from the mud came first one dragon, then another.

"How did you find us?" Were the words from the second, a rather muddy Sandwing.

"I saw a bubble." Blizzard said proudly, retaining as much dignity as possible when speaking such a ridiculous statement.

"It was Cactusflower's idea for me to hide her under my wings." Said the first dragon, a huge hazel Mudwing. "And of course I agreed, because it was a smart idea." He continued. Blizzard rolled his eyes internally.

"Well, good job, both of you, but you never had a chance against _me_." Blizzard boasted, flexing his wings proudly.

" _Please_." Cactusflower said in exasperated tones. "Spare me your bragging. Come on, Monsoon. We're going to wait next to Glitz." The Mudwing willingly followed, leaving Blizzard with only two dragons left to find.

 _Who next?_ Blizzard wondered. _Ah, the Seawing._ He eyed the streams slyly. _Look out, Kraken._ Sweeping around elegantly, he scanned the miniscule waterways, searching for glow-in-the-dark stripes showing through the water. _No? Too smart for that? Well, there are other ways…_ Blizzard switched his search from glow-in-the-dark to green. His friend was a murky green color, which would show up quite nicely on the gray and brown ground. Luckily, it was a fine day, and the water was clear. It was only a matter of time before he spotted a flash of green amongst the pebbles and mud. Jumping into the stream violently, Blizzard roared.

"Found you, Kraken!" The startled Seawing shot out of the water like a bolt of lightning and landed on the bank. He smiled graciously.

"Looks like you've found everybody else. But you'll never find Tempest." Blizzard grinned.

"Don't try to use your magical voice on me. He's bright red, how hard can it be to locate that?" Kraken shook his head.

"Go ahead and try. I'll join the others and observe." He strolled away, moving gracefully despite the fact that he had no wings. Blizzard smiled. _I have a pretty good idea of where Tempest might be…_

For his final find, Blizzard turned toward a tree. It was a tall cedar, flanked by two smaller oaks. Circling around the tree, he revealed a gaping hole in the trunk. The tree was hollow. Or it was, before a crimson Skywing decided to take up residence there.

"Tada!" Blizzard exclaimed. "Now you weren't at all difficult to find, were you?" Without a word, Tempest slunk out and back towards the stream, where everyone was now gathered. Kraken gasped.

"You said that you were going to hide somewhere that no one would ever find you!" Tempest shrugged moodily.

"Dragons say alot of things, but that doesn't mean they're all true." Glitz stared at him.

"Wow. Grumpy. Great job everyone! That was fun!" She began giggling uncontrollably, rolling around until even Macadamia stared at her oddly. "Hahaha... okay, sorry." She wiped tears from her eyes and sighed. "Ah. Good times. So, um, I guess that we're heading back to the grove. Yup. Follow me!" And she turned and bubbled away, colors brightly swirling across her scales.

"As if we didn't know where the grove was." Muttered Tempest, stalking after her. Blizzard had never understood why they lived in a grove, exposed to all the elements. Sure, the trees stretched high overhead, forming an ample canopy and roof, but he felt exposed and vulnerable. Still, he knew that no matter how grumpy Tempest was, or how silly Macadamia was, he would always have his friends to help him out.


	3. Chapter 3-Brook

**Chapter Three**

 **Brook**

Brook was lost inside her head. She did this a lot, striving to stay grounded, but it was too hard. Sometimes, like when Frost was talking, it was just _so_ boring that she faded out. Right now was one of those times. Frost was lecturing them like there was no tomorrow, and Brook's attention span was to short to listen for anything more than a minute or two at time, before she needed a break. She hoped that this would be over soon. There were only so many ways a dragon could keep herself occupied with her own thoughts.

Fate was kind, and time was swift, and Frost's speech was interrupted by the arrival of three shapes in the distance. They were dragons, obviously, and Brook could only hope that this meant…

"The other gaurdians are back!" Shrieked Rhododendron excitedly.

"Great." Flicker rolled her eyes. "Now we won't have to listen to this." Brook sighed. Rhododendron was so outgoing and Flicker was so tough. Why couldn't she be like them?

 _Because you're useless._ Whispered a tiny voice in her head. _You'll never be as good as your friends._ Brook's head drooped. This was a constant thought, and she listened to it far too often.

"Ah, the other gaurdians." Frost breathed. "Now _I_ can finally have some _help_ with you unruly dragons." She continued, looking pointedly at Flicker.

"Should we fly out to meet them?" Rhododendron inquired cheerfully.

"I don't think so. How do we know that it's them and not just any other dragons? We should wait for them to arrive. Then, if they are enemies, we can fight them on our own turf." Crystal put in commandingly, lashing her whip thin tail.

"Like I said before, melodramatic." Flicker said irritatibly. Brook sighed again. Crystal was so smart and...and...leadery. She really needed to stop comparing herself to her friends. It never had positive results.

During all of this, the mysterious dragon-shaped shadows drew ever closer, until the glint of Nightwing silver, Sandwing gold, and Skywing red could be seen. Soon they were near enough for all their details to be made out.

"It is them! Whoopeeeeeee!" Rhododendron sang, spinning in dizzying circles.

"They look so...grim." Siren commented softly. Brook nodded her agreement. Normally, Thunderhead the Skywing looked grumpy, but at least Sandstone could be counted on for a backhanded smile, and Mountainmover always appeared like he was deep in thought, much like Darkmystic, who had stayed quiet throughout the whole affair. Today, however, all their expressions were stoic and hard as they drew closer to the cave where the others awaited.

As soon as the first talons clicked against the stone floor, Rhododendron was talking.

"OHMYGOSH, how ARE you guys, it's been like forever since you left that was a LOOOONG meeting, what did you talk about, did you bring any food…"

" _SILENCE!_ " Roared Thunderhead. Rhododendron paused, looking slightly miffed.

"Frost, we need to talk." Sandstone stated urgently, glancing sadly at Brook and her friends. "The dragons are eleven years old now, fully matured, and…" She paused, again directing her gaze at the assembled dragons. Frost noticed.

"Out. Now. Everybody except for Mountainmover, Sandstone, Thunderhead, and myself. Out. NOW!" She roared, her voice sharper than usual.

"But…" Flicker cried, slightly outraged. Crystal's snout looked as angry as Flicker sounded.

"I SAID OUT!" Frost repeated, more insistently and louder. Far from cowed, Flicker and Crystal looked ready to fight.

"Come on," Siren butted in, gently nudging the two enraged dragons towards the cave entrance. "They need to talk. Calm down and let's give them their privacy." Her soothing voice had the desired effect, and Brook followed slowly as they one by one took off into the sky. Never one to challenge authority, the shy Mudwing flapped out of the cave obligingly, leaving the stone-faced gaurdians to conduct their mysterious conversation.


	4. Chapter 4-Monsoon

**Chapter Four**

 **Monsoon**

Monsoon watched Tempest storm off behind Glitz toward the grove, then turned to Cactusflower. The speedy Sandwing was already gliding along on the path to their home. Monsoon began to lumber after her placidly. Whatever Cactusflower wanted to do, he would do. She was smart and quick, and such a shimmery golden color. If she was going back to the grove, so would he. The others followed suit, one by one taking off to join the short line of dragons. It wasn't far, and in barely any time at all they had arrived at the grove. Actually, Monsoon wasn't entirely sure if it was a grove. From the outside it looked like a thick cluster of trees, but once you slipped inside, it really had a huge clearing on the inside. It was somewhat difficult to get to the clearing, though, especially when you were a big dragon like Monsoon. G;itz had already made her way through the trees, leaving the seven dragons to find their way in. Kraken slithered in easily, with no wings to hinder his progress, and Blizzard followed, squeezing through the closely cropped trees with no great ease. Tempest, looking as grumpy as ever, rose above the treetops and divebombed the thick leafy canopy, probably earning him several scratches to gripe about on the way down. Macadamia was small, and slid in with little protest, and Destiny followed, with a little more effort, but no audible complaints, leaving only Cactusflower and Monsoon outside of the grove.

"Come on, Monsoon. We've been doing this for eleven years, can't let a few trees stop us now." Tossing her yellow head proudly, the clever Sandwing slid through the bracken and underbrush. Monsoon groaned inwardly. He hated this part. But Cactusflower could do it, and she obviously wanted him to follow, so he steeled himself and dove in. Branches scratched him and whacked him in the snout, and leaves clouded his vision, sometimes causing him to run into several trees on the way. The journey was swift, however painful, and hardly a half minute after his dive, Monsoon emerged in the grove.

His friends were waiting, along with Glitz, who was shifting from pink to yellow to purple and any other color you could imagine.

"Good! You're here! Now that we're all assembled, we can ear!" Glitz cried. Monsoon's stomach rumbled. Food! Finally. He just hoped it wasn't… "Fruit!" Cheered Glitz, showering them with tiny berries. "Eat up!" Monsoon groaned, along with everybody else except for Destiny, who couldn't talk, and Macadamia, who, as a Rainwing, could survive on as little food as this.

"Ever since the other gaurdians left for that meeting, all that there has been to eat are these... _miniscule_ berries!" Cactusflower exclaimed. "I hope that they get back soon. We aren't even allowed to catch our own prey! Stupid vegetarian Rainwing." Monsoon lashed his tail in agreement. He wanted some _food_. Berries were yummy, but hardly enough to fuel a growing Mudwing. The other gaurdians had been gone for _days_ , and for those days, all that they had had to eat were the measly berries that Glitz brought to them. He hoped that they would come back soon, even Ripple. The Seawing might have been all too ready to spring a surprise fighting lesson on the dragons, but at least he understood the concept of eating _meat._

It seemed like the sky heard his silent wishes, for just as Monsoon had resigned himself to eating berries, three dragons dove through the leaf canopy and alighted next to Glitz.

"Terracotta! Ripple! Jackal! You're back! How did the meeting with…" Glitz began.

"Shhhh!" Hissed Terracotta, a huge chocolate Mudwing. "Not in front of them." She waved a talon at Monsoon and his friends, who had abandoned the berries and were watching curiously.

"Why not?" Monsoon wondered aloud. There was no answer.

"He said, why not?" Cactusflower repeated, more forcibly than Monsoon had.

"Hello! Can't you hear us? We exist too, and we want to know what's going on!" Kraken added in.

"What are these, berries?" Ripple said, scattering them in an attempt to change the subject. It didn't work.

"We want to know what's going on." Kraken continued, his voice firm and persuasive.

"Well, it's…" Jackal began, then shook off the haze. "Nice try, boy, but I'm not telling you anything, magically convincing voice or not."

"This is very important information." Terracotta said. "In fact, it is so important, that we must discuss it amongst ourselves before disclosing ANYTHING to you. So go away. NOW." Kraken frowned, but wisely refrained from further prodding.

"If..." Cactusflower began. Kraken shot her a look telling her to back down. She shut her mouth. The subject was closed for now. They would all talk later. Monsoon followed suit and swallowed any inquisitive comments he had been harboring. Everybody else listened to Kraken's unspoken orders and shut up. Even Tempest, although he was probably too grumpy to care about whether the gaurdians were back or not.

Kraken turned his head and slithered out of the clearing, followed by Destiny, Macadamia, and, surprisingly, Tempest, who still wore a heavy scowl. Cactusflower folded her wings tightly against her and joined in the procession out, which was Monsoon's signal to walk out. Which he did, braving the short and painful journey through the trees. He looked back only once, to see what the gaurdians were doing. Terracotta, Ripple, and Jackal wore grim expressions, and had clustered tighter around Glitz to break the apparently horrifying news to the startled Rainwing. As his head turned back around and he began the trek out of the grove, he wondered what in Pyrrhia the meeting had been about.


	5. Chapter 5-Darkmystic

**Chapter Five**

 **Darkmystic**

Darkmystic huddled by himself on a rocky ledge, staring at the rapidly setting sun. Brilliant crimsons, pinks, oranges, and yellows streaked across the sky, reminding him of Rhododendron. He had had a minor crush on her since last year, and though he kept thinking he was over it, it kept niggling at the back of his brain. He was eleven now, like all the others, slightly past the mature age for a dragonet, and could qualify as a fully fledged dragon. Yet still he was kept under the watchful eyes of the gaurdians. It was a good thing that they couldn't read his mind, because sometimes he had very treasonous thoughts about the gaurdians. Mountainmover was older than them and their generation, having hatched on the old Nightwing island, so he couldn't read minds. But neither could Darkmystic. He couldn't talk, either. He had been struck mute at his hatching, and a single word had never passed his lips. It was sad, really. Sometimes he felt so alone. The only way for him to communicate was if he projected his thoughts into other dragon's minds, and he could only 'talk' to one dragon at a time that way. He tried to talk to his friends, he really did. But it was so difficult for him to communicate his ideas to everyone. Better he just stay silent. Until he found someone else like him, his mind was the only dragon that he would have long conversations with. Sad, really. Darkmystic sighed. To be honest, that was his life. Pathetic.

In the midst of Darkmystic's self-pity party, Scorpion flapped up, alighting next to him. Darkmystic shrank back from his venomous tail.

"Nice sunset, huh? Makes you think, doesn't it? What do you think about? What are you plotting?" Scorpion inquired, starting out innocently enough, but quickly veering into suspicion. Darkmystic sighed. Scorpion was like this all the time.

 _Nothing. I'm not plotting anything, thank you. My end of the world scheme is on hold until next week._ Darkmystic broadcasted, the ridges above his eyes raised.

"You're joking, right? Because I wouldn't put it past you, actually. To plot, that is. Nightwings aren't exactly trustworthy, although I try to make exceptions for my friends. If you are my friend. You haven't turned on me after eleven years in the same cave, have you?" Again, Darkmystic sighed. Scorpion could be so quick to jump to conclusions, and he didn't bother ever keeping them to himself. Unlike Darkmystic, who would have been happy if he could go through life without ever telling anyone what he was thinking. Sadly, that wasn't going to happen. If he had to talk, at least he could be sarcastic. If anybody would _let_ him be sarcastic without becoming suspicious.

 _That was sarcasm, Scorpion._ Darkmystic said. _Please, learn to detect it so that I don't have to endure your accusations. Nobody trusts me! It's really deterring._ Scorpion looked relieved that it was only sarcasm.

"I call them like I see them. What's the point in keeping things to yourself? Everyone should always know what everyone else thinks of them so that they aren't taken by surprise when someone tries to kill them."

 _I_ know _what your opinions are on knowing everyone's opinions, because you tell us all about them all the time. I wish that you'd just stop talking, sometimes._ Scorpion was unhurt by Darkmystic's bluntness.

"There we go, that's the spirit! What else do you think?" Darkmystic groaned inwardly.

 _I_ think _,_ he began. _That you need to just shut up and enjoy the sunset._ The Sandwing perched beside him obviously wanted to say more, but thankfully didn't. Darkmystic found that he was able to enjoy the vibrant colors until the sun sank below the hills and the oranges and reds faded into dusky purples and the inky black sky. Then Scorpion sat up.

"That's it. What is taking those gaurdians so long? Probably throwing a party and wanted us out of the way. Let's go back into the cave." Darkmystic's head snapped around.

 _WAIT!_ He cried as loudly as he could inside Scorpion's head. _We...we can't!_ Scorpion stopped and turned around.

"And why not, Mr. Goody Two Wings? Scared?" Darkmystic shook his head.

 _No, it's just that...that…_

"Hey!" Crystal cried, peering down from her ledge. "What's going on down there?" Scorpion lashed his tail.

"The Nightwing here is afraid to go back in the cave, just because he was told not to." Darkmystic scowled but stayed silent.

"That's no way to talk about a friend, Scorpion." Crystal scolded. "We listen to orders here, and Darkmystic is correct in holding back. Have you forgotten what happened to you last time you disobeyed Frost?" Scorpion shivered, remembering. "That's right." Crystal continued. "Now sit back down on that ledge before I send Flicker down there to torment you both."

"Excuse me!" The orange Skywing cried. Despite Flicker's protests, Scorpion obliged in a placid, out of character, sort of way. Darkmystic smiled gratefully at Crystal, who was retracting her head. She was a good leader. If they ever got out of the Claws of Clouds Mountains, he knew where his vote for leader was heading. Suddenly, a pale golden head emerged from the mouth of the cave.

"Crystal, Brook, Darkmystic, Rhododendron, Scorpion, Siren, Flicker, we are done. You may come in." Sandstone said with an uncustomarily grim face. Darkmystic glanced at all of his friends, who were as uncertain as he was, except for Rhododendron, of course.

"Come on, you guys! Oooh, I wonder what the news is, and if they'll tell it to us, and if it's interesting, and if maybe they found something...ooh! Pretty!" Directing her last comment at a befuddled owl, Rhododendron gaily skipped back into the cave, hesitantly followed by the others. Darkmystic was last in, tingling with apprehension at the mysterious news to come. He didn't know for sure, but he suspected that this was going to change their lives forever. He was right.


	6. Chapter 6-Destiny

**Chapter Six**

 **Destiny**

Destiny sat down immediately after she emerged from the grove. Her talons gripped the dirt, and an unheard growl rumbled in her throat. If she hadn't been mute, she would have roared at the top of her lungs for all the world to hear, just for the pleasure of letting her steaming pile of anger out on the unsuspecting world. Well, actually, she needed to revise that. She wanted to let her anger out on the magma brains known as her gaurdians. She never knew _anything_ important, and neither did any of her friends. She waited for the last of them, Monsoon, to crawl out of the bushes before the conversation could start. Then she turned to Kraken.

 _Alright, now it's time to talk. I've waited long enough to discuss the topic of us never knowing anything, and I'm bringing it up now. What the heck are those dragons talking about, and why can't they talk about it in front of us?You better start these dragons talking now._ Kraken listened to all of that in his head, then cleared his throat.

"Destiny has informed me that we should kick _our_ discussion off. Anyone want to start?" Blizzard raised a deep blue talon.

"Yes, Blizzard?" Kraken said, pointing to the dragon in question.

"How come you were so easily cowed back there? We all know that you could have pressed more information out of Jackal, so why didn't you?" The others nodded in agreement, with the exception of Monsoon, who was distracted by Blizzard's choice of words.

"Mmmmmm, cows. I could eat a cow right now. Not berries. Berries aren't enough. Now a cow…"

"Monsoon." Cactusflower snapped, not unkindly. "Focus."

"Cows…Hmmmm? Oh. Focus. Okay. Sorry." Monsoon returned to the world of the attentive. Kraken sighed.

"Well, frankly, I didn't think that pressing Jackal would have really worked. The others would have pulled him back into focus, and anyway, I think that if the news is really important, they'll tell us. Especially if it involves us. They have to tell us sometime." Destiny saw his point, and nodded placidly, not wanting to waste her energy on projecting her thoughts into everbody's minds. The others could see the logic as well, and murmured their agreement, except for Tempest.

"Hah!" He snorted. "If you're going to be a wimpy scavenger about something, you might as well tell the truth about it. That's a stupid excuse, and I don't buy it." Destiny turned to face the arrogant Skywing. Finally, someone to take out her anger on.

 _Look,_ she hissed inside his head. _It is taking every ounce of self control I have not to march back in there and strangle the gaurdians. So if you're going to be a jerk, fueling your own inflated ego by putting better dragons down, then just let me know. Because I don't think I have any patience left, and clawing somebody's eyes out, like, say, a certain grumpy Skywing, would be just the thing I need. And I don't think I'm the only one here who feels this way, but_ they're _too polite to say it. I'm not. I speak the truth, so shut your snout and leave everyone else alone._ Tempest looked slightly intimidated, and Destiny gave the barest hint of a smile as she turned away. That had felt good. She had to watch her temper, or she might turn into a psychopathic dragon, but Tempest had really deserved it. Kraken gave her an odd but grateful look.

"I didn't hear anything that went on there, but I'm guessing you just whaled Tempest out. So, thanks, Destiny."

 _No problem. He earned every bit of that mini psycho rant I just gave him._ Cactusflower agreed.

"Tempest is our friend and all, but I think he's too big for his britches and to grumpy for his own good. Someday a dragon needs to come along who can turn that frown upside down. I'd love to see that." Monsoon nodded enthusiastically as the Sandwing stared pointedly at Tempest.

"Never going to happen. There's not a dragon alive that could convince me to change my attitude, and there's never going to be."

" _That_ I can believe." Mumbled Macadamia under his breath. Destiny grinned. No matter how moody Tempest was, they would all be friends to the end, no matter what the dreadful news was. The bushes opposite the grove rustled, startling Destiny out of her reverie.

"Was that the wind?" Kraken wondered aloud.

"There is no wind." Cactusflower pointed out. They all stared at the bushes, which had stilled.

"I'm gonna check it out." Macadamia muttered. A very un-Rainwing like decision. He slowly approached the bushes.

"Wait!" Kraken whispered forcefully. Macadamia paused. "If it's dangerous, you shouldn't get so close by yourself. We'll all go together." Macadamia agreed, as did everyone else, even Tempest. Slowly, they crept towards the brush as a group.

"HEY!" A voice snapped, startling the dragons. Destiny whirled around, ready to fight, but it was only Jackal. "We're done talking. You dust balls are allowed to come in now."

"But…" Macadamia began, glancing at the bushes.

"Let me rephrase that." Jackal said in annoyed tones. "You squirts are to come back into the grove. Now. No more bushes."

"Come on, guys." Kraken said. "Let's go. Maybe we'll learn what the fuss around this news is all about." Glancing warningly at Tempest, Destiny listened to the wingless Seawing and slid into the grove. This had better be good.


	7. Chapter 7-Rhododendron

**Chapter Seven**

 **Rhododendron**

Rhododendron grinned as brightly and cheerfully as she could. The other gaurdians were back, and all her friends were there, and there was a pretty bird outside. The only problem was that all of the gaurdians looked so darn _grumpy_! Rhododendron hoped that her smile would catch on. That was her goal in life, to help everyone see the bright side. And also save Pyrrhia. That would be great as well. She figured that if she was as happy as possible, it would make everybody else happy too. For some reason, though, sometimes her happiness just made dragons more irritated. Maybe she wasn't trying hard enough. She would. The happier this world was, the less likely dragons were to kill each other. As simple as that, and Pyrrhia's peace started small, with this one little smile that she was beaming around the cave.

"So, what did you want us in here for?" Crystal asked. Rhododendron had always liked the Icewing. She was a good leader, and had _such_ pretty blue scales. She decided to mimic them now, spreading a layer of sky blue rippling across her yellow scales.

"Yeah, you'd better tell us what's going on. I've had enough of secrecy." It was Scorpion! Sometimes the pale golden Sandwing could be a little uptight, but he had his charm. _Golden, hmm..._ Rhododendron thought. _Ooh!_ A wave of light yellow rushed over her scales.

"Umm… Not to be pushy, but I'd really like to know, too." Brook spoke up in murmured tones. That was odd. She rarely talked unless it was absolutely necessary. Rhododendron flicked her tail as chocolate brown swept over her, identical to the shy Mudwing's. She giggled. This was fun! Darkmystic shot her an odd look. The Nightwing was always thinking about something. She changed her scales into an inky black and thoughtfully stared at a wall. _Thinking, thinking..._ _hee hee! Just like Darkmystic!_ The little Rainwing rapidly turned a brilliant yellow and collapsed into hysteric laughter. Crystal, who had been talking to the gaurdians, shot her an injured look.

"Ahem. Trying to talk here!" Rhododendron stifled her hilarity. Crystal was right. As funny as imitating her friend's had been, it was a time to focus on the task at hand. Which was sadly not the mimic game she had just devised. Stilling her emotion and her scales, she retained a confident gold and cheerfully diverted her attention to the conversation being held between her friends and the gaurdians.

"As I was saying," Crystal began. "We are eleven years old now. Full fledged dragons. So that means that if we wanted to, we could just fly out of here by ourselves if we got too frustrated by, say, never knowing what's going on."

"But that's just it!" Sandstone exclaimed. "You're eleven years old!" Even Rhododendron had to turn her gaze towards the Sandwing, who was sitting there as if she had just given the clearest definition known to dragonkind.

"Look." Frost said. "You're the prophecy dragons. The Icewing with scales of shimmering blue." She pointed to Crystal. "The Mudwing whose fire is always true." Here she turned a talon to Brook. "The Nightwing whose voice has fled." Now she was pointing at Darkmystic, then swiveled to Rhododendron. "The Rainwing with claws of dread."

"But we've never even seen Rhododendron's 'claws of dread'! How do we know that she's the one?" Interrupted Flicker. Rhododendron was a little hurt by this statement, until she realized the truth in it. Mountainmover answered that question.

"Oh, ,she has them all right. But after she showed us, we decided that she should only use them when it's absolutely necessary. So don't tick her off!" Rhododendron giggled, before she realized that the stern Nightwing was completely serious.

"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" Flicker asked. "Scorpion?" The Sandwing shook his head.

"My tail is still. He's telling the truth."

"May I continue?" Frost inquired, slightly miffed at having been interrupted. She raised a talon at Scorpion. "The Sandwing who can sense a lie, as you proved back there." Her gaze shifted to Siren. "The Seawing who will never fly." Siren glanced once at the place where her wings would have been while Frost directed her claw to Flicker. "And finally the Skywing whose scales can withstand snow. Raised together from hatching, your friendships have grown strong, just as the prophecy instructs. What it doesn't instruct is how old the dragons must be in order to save Pyrrhia's queens."

"Which is what our meeting was about." Sandstone interjected. Rhododendron was breathless with excitement.

"And?" She said, for once talking without a stream of pointless chatter.

"And we talked with the leader of the prophets." Mountainmover continued. "As you'll remember if you payed attention in class, she is also the one who gave the Pyrrhia Prophecy…" He ran a few calculations in his head. "Thirteen years ago. It took us two years just to find you and... just to find you. Le-she wanted to discuss refining the details of the prophecy, including the age when the dragons can be sent out into the world." Rhododendron's tail was shaking with anticipation, as well as her wings. Her excitement could be seen mimicked in her friend's expressions.

"Get to the point already!" Frost snapped. Mountainmover looked injured.

"I'm getting there." Thunderhead, who had been sitting quietly to the side throughout the discussion, finally snapped at the Nightwing's effective 'dodge the main topic' tactics.

"It's time!" He roared. "It's time for you to leave the cave and save the world."


	8. Chapter 8-Macadamia

**Chapter Eight**

 **Macadamia**

"What?" Macadamia exclaimed. "But...but...leaving the grove?!" _And the scrolls._ He thought sadly. The reactions from his friends were quite different.

"You mean we're ready? Finally!" Kraken cheered, nearly turning a flip in his excitement. Although Destiny couldn't speak, her eyes shone, and she turned gleeful cartwheels in the air. Cactusflower thrashed her tail so violently that Macadamia was afraid she would accidentally impale somebody.

"Yes! It's about time that we were able to do something _useful_ with our valuable prophecy lives!" Her joy was shared with Monsoon, who sat there with a shocked and slightly dopey grin on his face. Even Tempest seemed somewhat excited about the news, in his own moody way.

"At least we're going to get out of this place." He griped, gesturing widely around the grove. Terracotta cleared her throat.

"I suggest that you start gathering anything you think would prove sufficiently valuable on your journey, and then get out." Macadamia immediately lunged for the stacks of scrolls haphazardly placed about the grove.

"What?" He said when this action directed odd looks. "Oh, the scrolls." _Play the part of a silly Rainwing._ "I like them. They smell like that one kind of fruit. And I haven't gotten around to seeing if they taste like that fruit. So I thought I'd take a few with me so that I can." Ridiculous as this explanation was, the others bought it.

"Oh, yeah! That fruit!" Glitz cried. "I never thought about that. I'll have to try a...what were they called? Oh, yeah! I'll have to try a scroll sometime." The gaurdians rolled their eyes, along with Macadamia's friends.

"Let him bring some." Kraken said dismissively. "They could have some useful information. Bring the ones on the Dragonet and Jade Mountain Prophecies." Macadamia nodded and began sorting through the scrolls, while his friends gathered other things they would need, which were not alot. Basically the focus was centered on collecting maps. Dragons didn't really do possessions, except for treasure, something that none of the dragons there had. The packing was concluded quickly, with Kraken zipping up a bag filled with the things assembled by the others. Besides the various scrolls, the bag also included, much to Kraken's embarrassment, a sort of sling for the others to carry him in, so that they wouldn't have to travel on foot, which would slow them down considerably.

"All ready to go!" Kraken declared, shouldering the bag.

"Wait!" Macadamia shrieked, unable to help himself. "Shouldn't we at least figure out where we're going? We need a plan. Which queen is the villian going to target first?"

"Yeah...did the leader tell you anything about that?" Kraken asked the gaurdians.

"Actually," Ripple said. "She did say that she had a vision of first Queen Glacier being attacked, then Queens Moorhen, Glory, Thorn, Coral, and Ruby, in that order." Macadamia thought it rather odd that the same queens had remained in power for ten years, but many of Pyrrhia's royalty had been shaken after the Great War and death of Queen Scarlet happening so succinctly, and the various princesses became slightly wary of what might happen to them if they became queen. So those six queens kept their thrones, for now.

"Then it seems that the Icewing kingdom is our first stop." Kraken announced. Macadamia shivered.

"It sounds cold." He had to stay in character.

"Duh." Cactusflower said, but she looked a little apprehensive. Sandwings weren't exactly known for their tolerance of cold. In fact, the only dragons that really adored the freezing temperatures of the Icewing kingdom were the Icewings themselves, which would explain why only Blizzard seemed unfazed by the discovery that they would be headed there first to save the queen. Actually, he did look a little wary, but since it definitely wasn't about the cold, Macadamia had no idea why he would ever be uneasy about returning to his home.

"So, Blizzard, maybe we'll see your family. Definitely gonna see the rest of your tribe. That'll be fun." Macadamia blundered, sending a clumsy verbal probe towards his Icewing friend.

"Fun? Yeah, I guess." Blizzard glanced at his deep blue scales. "Certainly interesting." He mumbled under his breath. _Well that didn't work._ Macadamia thought. Ah well. He would probably figure it out when the arrived in the Ice Kingdom. He turned his gaze to Kraken.

"All set?" Kraken nodded.

"Just one more thing. I figured I'd make a list of the order that the queens are going to be attacked." Macadamia ran the names through his head.

"They're alphabetical." He realized aloud. "By tribe. First the Icewing queen, then the Mudwings, Nightwings and Rainwings, Sandwings, Seawings, and Skywings. It's all organized. Very strange for an assassin." Kraken and the others looked startled by his theory, which they checked themselves mentally and discovered that it was very correct.

"How did you figure that out?" Tempest growled. "You're just a stupid Rainwing. They don't know anything."

"What? Rainwing? I thought I heard...ooh, butterfly." Glitz glanced over from where she was staring intensely at a tiny beetle scuttling across the ground to make a comment, but a butterfly fluttering by distracted her.

"See?" Tempest said.

"Enough bickering." Kraken intervened. "It doesn't matter so much how he figured it out as that it's correct, and a very helpful tool to remember the order. So stop patronizing poor Macadamia and thank him. _Now_ ," he continued. "I believe it is time for us to depart." And with that being said, he clambered onto the stretcher, which had been laid out on the ground. Blizzard's deep blue scales gave him enhanced strength, so logically he was the one to carry Kraken. The Icewing took flight, heading to the tree canopy that shielded the grove from above. "Are you coming?" Kraken's voice called from up high. Macadamia glanced once at the gaurdians.

"Goodbye. Thank you for watching after us all these years." Glitz was the only one who waved, the others priding themselves on not getting emotional. Macadamia felt a slight lump in his throat. He was leaving his home for eleven long years. But excitement suppressed his sadness. With his friends, he was flying off to save Pyrrhia.


	9. Chapter 9-Scorpion

**Chapter Nine**

 **Scorpion**

Scorpion shivered uncomfortably. He had been fine when they passed over the Kingdom of Sand, but the cozy desert was drawing farther and farther away. Their flight path was simple: from the Claws of Clouds Mountains they headed straight west, to the Sand Kingdom, where they had stopped at the Scorpion Den for water and rest. Currently they were on their way north, towards the Ice Kingdom, and frankly, if it got any colder, Scorpion didn't think he could make it.

"This is freezing! If it gets any colder, I think I'm going to have to turn back." He complained.

"Relax. You emanate heat. You're fine. And anyway, there are always those cloaks that we purchased in the Scorpion Den." Crystal replied, not one to spare pity when someone was being unreasonable. "If anyone is to complain, it's me. I'm the one carting around an extra dragon, after all. Sorry Siren."

"Yes, but you have enhanced strength. Besides, you're an Icewing. This cold is just your kind of thing. You have absolutely no reason to whine. Now me, on the other claw...I'm a Sandwing, and it's freezing. I hope this whole prophecy thing doesn't turn out to be a wild goose chase, or else I will be _very_ annoyed."

"The prophecy is _not_ a wild goose chase. The Nightwings actually _have_ powers now, and the Jade Mountain Prophecy came true, didn't it? The Pyrrhia Prophecy is real, too, and we're going to make it come true. This is no time to complain. We're going to save the queens!" Siren poked her head indignantly out of the sling that she was being carried in. Her lack of wings had gifted her with an extremely persuasive voice, which she used unconsciously. The handicapped Seawing was a staunch believer in the prophecy, and her words swayed Scorpion now to stop whining and focus on fulfilling the future task laid out for him.

"So, how are we going to save Queen Glacier? We know that there's going to be an assassination attempt, but how to go about stopping it?" Flicker called, flapping a little harder to catch up to Scorpion and Crystal. Being the 'Skywing whose scales can withstand snow', the freezing cold didn't bother her a bit.

"I think that we should just go to the castle, say 'We're the dragons from the Pyrrhia Prophecy, and we're here to save your queen, so let us through.' Then we get inside and keep a close eye on the queen until something happens."

"No that won't work." Crystal shook her head.

"Will that really not work, or are you just saying that to spite me?"Scorpion inquired suspiciously.

"No, really. We won't know _how_ the queen is going to be attacked, so we won't know what we're stopping. We need to figure out a way to tell how the assassin is planning to kill each queen."

"But that's impossible!" Scorpion exclaimed.

"I know. It's just so…" Crystal growled, at a loss for words.

"Excuse me, but my wings are tired. I'm not trying to complain, but I think that we could all use a break to recuperate and maybe figure out how to figure out how to stop the assassin. I even see the perfect spot, right there! It's so sparkly in the sun." Rhododendron broke in, pointing a talon at one section in the smooth frosty landscape. Crystal looked at all of the dragons, who seemed fine with that idea. She shrugged.

"Okay. Break, everybody!" Scorpion took the cue, and gracefully zoomed downwards. He landed on the snow, shivering once more. The others alighted next to him.

"It's even colder down here!" He moaned. "Let's get a fire going." He breathed a small flame on the ground, but it fizzled out as soon as it came in contact with the frosty dirt.

"Idiot, you need something to light." Flicker said, and promptly set about gathering a small bundle of sticks. Exhaling her own flame onto the pile, she managed to melt most of the frost before she had to stop to inhale. Brook, the only other one of them with constant fire, besides Darkmystic, who was obviously not paying attention, stepped forward quietly. Rather a bold move on the shy Mudwing's part, seeing as she mostly kept to herself. In yet another out of character act, Flicker stepped aside, allowing Brook to have a go.

"Go ahead, but I doubt you'll have any better luck." Scorpion said, stating exactly what he thought, as always. This statement earned his several nasty looks from the others, as always. Brook knelt silently over the kindling and began to blow. A steady stream of fire came forth, scorching the sticks. But the fire didn't look normal. Scorpion stepped closer. The flames were pure orange, but in the center of them…

"Guys!" Scorpion cried urgently. "Look!" Startled, Brook ceased her stream of fire, having succeeded in setting the wood alight. But Scorpion wasn't worried about that now. His friends drew closer, staring at the fire.

"Images. Inside the fire. It looks like...the Ice Castle! Queen Glacier's palace!" Crystal exclaimed. Sure enough, a hazy image of the impressive but cold structure could be seen. As the sticks burned, the picture sharpened, then changed. It looked like a throne room, with a staturely and commanding Icewing seated on an impressive chair made entirely of ice. Diamonds were draped over her horns, wings and tail.

"Queen Glacier herself!" Scorpion realized aloud. The queen sat still, unfazed. The ceiling was high, with many archways. A shadow flickered on one particularly elaborate one, directly above the throne. Flicker inhaled sharply as a glimmer of orange flame appeared next to the shadow. The shadow, which now took on a distinctly dragon-like shape held out something, which upon close inspection could be made out as a small, spiky plant. Siren obviously recognized it.

"Dragonflame cactus!" She inhaled sharply. The others, after hearing the name, registered the plant. _Not good._ Scorpion thought, and said. The assassin on the archway dropped the cactus towards the unsuspecting queen, a stream of flame following it. When the fire caught up with the cactus, it smoldered for a few seconds, then exploded. The serene ice castle was engulfed in flames. Through the fire, Scorpion could see snatches of chaos, melting ice and snow, the mangled and deformed bodies of Icewings.

"This is horrible!" Brook cried, then remembered that she didn't talk and clammed up.

"I'll say." Scorpion growled. "But at least we've discovered that you _do_ have something useful after all. Now we know all about the attempted assassination that will be happening. But how do we know when?" Crystal's eyes took on that slightly glazed expression granted to dragons when Darkmystic spoke in their head.

"Darkmystic said that the position of the sun through the window revealed that the assassination attempt will be at noon, which is…" She glanced up at the sky. "Two hours from now. Also, this proves that our Nightwing must be very smart, for having figured that out from a window. Good for him, now come on dragons, we don't have much time. We only have two hours before Queen Glacier is going to be killed, unless we have anything to say about it."


	10. Chapter 10-Cactusflower

**Chapter Ten**

 **Cactusflower**

Cactusflower was surprised. They had recently discovered that Monsoon's fire had prophetic powers, and that Queen Glacier was going to have an assassination attempt at noon, in two hours. Well, it was more like one, now. They had been flapping as hard as they could for the past hour, but you can't change the laws of time.

"It appears that we have reached the Ice Kingdom!" Cactusflower called over the howling wind. "Why don't we stop for direction to Queen Glacier's palace from this point?"

"All right!" A voice cried back. She thought it was Kraken's, but in this weather, she couldn't be sure. The group veered down, down, down, landing in the middle of a very planned out and organized Icewing village. It was surprisingly empty. They approached a solitary dragon, the only one in sight. The Icewing directed his gaze to Blizzard skeptically. Kraken cleared his throat.

"We are the dragons from the Pyrrhia Prophecy, and we have come to save your queen. Could you kindly direct us towards the castle?" The Icewing snorted.

" _You're_ the dragons from the prophecy? Funny, because a group just came through here claiming to be the dragons from the prophecy as well. I guess neither of you are very smart, because you both somehow managed to miss that." He gestured with a talon at a huge castle looming in the distance, entirely made out of ice. "A little less than a half hour away, but when I told the others that they were gone like that. Which I suppose…" The Icewing trailed off, probably due to the fact that the dragons he had been talking to were already flying as fast as they could towards the Ice Castle.

"We have to hurry!" Cactusflower shouted. "When we get there, we'll only have half an hour to get in and save the queen!" Flapping furiously yet again, the seven dragons soared quickly, arriving at the castle just scant minutes after their impersonators. Of course, they didn't know that.

There were Icewing gaurds posted heavily around the doors to the palace. They all appeared very firm, like they weren't going to let anybody pass, not even the supposed dragons from the prophecy.

"Well, it doesn't look like we'll be getting in that way." Mumbled Blizzard. Cactusflower agreed.

"Guess we'll have to sneak around back. Monsoon, can you maybe melt a hole in the wall with my and Darkmystic's help?" Tempest was the only other dragon with fire that he could always summon, but Cactusflower doubted that he would want to help.

"Or we can just kill all the gaurds." The Skywing grumbled. Cactusflower shot him an alarmed look. Yeah. Definitely _not_ a dragon who was going to want to help others. Monsoon nodded eagerly. He had a habit of agreeing to everything that Cactusflower said. She had no problem with that, though. Kraken nodded his consent to that plan. Everyone knew he was the unspoken leader, and he was a good one, too. He silently slithered around the castle, cutting behind snowdrifts and huge icy rocks for cover. Cactusflower followed stealthily, leading the way for Monsoon to follow her. Eventually the entire band, Tempest included, reached the back wall. On the count of three, they burned a dripping hole in the wall, just wide enough for the biggest of them to slip through.

"Now to find the throne room." Cactusflower declared, thinking _Oh boy. This should be fun._ As her sarcastic mental tones implied, it wasn't.


	11. Chapter 11-Crystal

**Chapter Eleven**

 **Crystal**

Crystal exhaled a puff of air, that quickly became visible in the cold temperature. She and her merry band of friends, who had thankfully voted her their official leader earlier that day, except for Flicker, who, being an obstinate Skywing, had voted for herself, were perched behind an unusually large column, waiting for the assassin to strike. Noon. That was the time that Darkmystic had determined, and Crystal had faith in her team. She was proud of herself for leading them this far successfully, and hoped that she could stop this assassin from dropping a dragonflame cactus on Queen Glacier. She was quite enthralled to be in her tribe's home, a land of comforting cold and ice and snow. But she had to focus. Noon. The plan they had decided on was simple enough. When the assassin dropped the dragonflame, they sent a burst of fire after it. For a few brief seconds, it would smolder. In that time, she, Crystal, the Icewing, was to project a stream of her freezing Icewing breath onto the burning plant. It required precision and focus, not shiny eyed visions of snow and ice. Then they would send Rhododendron, who was thrilled to have a part to play in this, up there to capture the assassin. Mostly she had been chosen for this duty due to her camouflage skills, but also in case the villain would not be apprehended peaceably. Crystal figured that Rhododendron could use her 'claws of dread' on the mysterious dragon, although she doubted that the bubbly dragon could actually manage to harm anyone. But they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

It was almost noon. The sun shining through the window bounced it's light around the room. A set of double doors opened at the end of the room, and Queen Glacier entered her throne room. It hadn't been easy for Crystal and her friends to locate the throne room, but somehow they had ended up in the correct place. The queen, of course, hadn't had such troubles finding her own throne room, and the elegant but cold dragon took a seat in her throne. She had changed her adornments after the Sandwing War of Succession, choosing to drape herself in diamonds to symbolize that she was an Icewing, and no half witted Sandwing or anybody else would bribe her to join a war that was ultimately lost by all three parties. Crystal liked it. It was quite a statement. A shadow flickered on the archway above the queen's head. Just like they had seen in Brook's fire, something that Crystal was still trying to register. The shy Mudwing had prophetic powers, or at least her fire did. It was a little hard to process. _Aargh!_ She yelled inside her brain. _Focus! Stop getting distracted by every little thing! What are you, a Rainwing?_ She glanced guiltily at Rhododendron after she thought this. That was a little rude. And there she went again! Losing her focus to…

The shadowy figure atop the archway procured the spiky dragonflame cactus. It was time. Crystal breathed deeply, preparing herself. She felt the icy cold build up in her throat. It was refreshing. The plant fell, followed by the fire. It was a race. The fire won. It struck the cactus, setting it aflame. _Now!_ Crystal exhaled a blast of freezing frost, keeping herself hidden for the most part behind her column, with only her snout poking out, sky blue. Across from her, at an identical column, another snout appeared, deep blue, but it didn't look like a Seawing's, and it didn't act like a Seawing's, ejected a cloud of frosty breath that only Icewings had. But Crystal couldn't see that. All she was focusing on was keeping her breath steady, and monitoring the dragonflame cactus, praying that this would work. It put out most of the flame in seconds, but not all. In the miniscule war raged between fire and ice, it seemed like the fire was going to triumph, when the second icy blast hit the cactus. In barely a second, frost from both Icewings crawled over the plant, eliminating all of the flame, and the risk. The frozen cactus fell harmlessly in front of the confused Queen Glacier.

"What is this mysterious plant?" She said. "Kind of...spiky." But Crystal didn't have time to listen to the queen's somewhat hilarious monotone musings. She waved a talon, signaling Rhododendron to fly up there and capture the assassin. It took the Rainwing a moment to catch on, but then she adapted her scales to match the icy castle walls and shot up towards the archway, unseen by all assembled.


	12. Chapter 12-Macadamia

**Chapter Twelve**

 **Macadamia**

Macadamia zoomed towards the arch like his tail was on fire. He was perfectly camouflaged against the cold castle walls, and the mysterious shadowy assassin would have never seen him coming, had he not collided with some invisible wall. But it didn't feel like a wall. It felt like...a dragon. White pain swirled across his scales as he reeled backwards. The dragon he had bumped into had an identical reaction, and Macadamia realized that it was a Rainwing like himself. He blanched in surprise, then disappeared, naturally changing color to match his environment. The Rainwing across from him did the same, and Macadamia realized that the mysterious shadowy assassin had slipped away. Macadamia saw the end of a black tail disappear around the edge of the window and pounced, but too late. The assassin was gone. He supposed it was just as well. They had to save the other queens from this villianous plot, and tampering with fate never worked out. He spiraled downward, back to his friends, switching into his worrying mode as he remembered the Rainwing he had bumped into up there. The dragon they had asked for directions from had said that there had been a group of prophecy dragons, or somebody claiming to be the prophecy dragons, that had asked for directions before Macadamia and his friends came along. Was there a group of dragons out there masquerading as them? This could be a problem. Who knew what havok could be wreaked? Their next priority should be to rescue Queen Moorhen, to be sure, but on the way, they should probably do something about these imposters. When he returned, the others were anxious to discover what had happened.

"How did you let that assassin get away? I knew sending an incompetent Rainwing to do this job was a bad decision." Tempest growled.

"Whoa! Go easy on him. What happened, Macadamia?" Kraken said calmly.

"I was up there and there was the shadow and I was flying and then there was a wall but it wasn't a wall it was a dragon and it hurt and it was a Rainwing and then it disappeared and then the assassin was gone and there are impostors and next is Queen Moorhen and I can't deal with this mystery! My mind is breaking!" No acting was necessary for the surprisingly intellectual Rainwing there. He was as flustered as he sounded, and white pain and green fear and orange stress flickered across his wild scales, looking as crazy as his turmoiled brain felt.

 _Relax, Macadamia. It's okay. Tell us what happened at a pace that we can understand._ It was Destiny, broadcasting calming thoughts into his brain. It worked fairly well, and Macadamia stilled his beating heart long enough to explain what had happened in multiple sentences, with proper punctuation. When his short story was done, Kraken was very distraught.

"Impostors! I knew it. When the Icewing told us that there had been a group claiming to be the prophecy dragons before us, I figured he was just being ornery. But impostors! This is terrible!"

"But it doesn't seem like they're necessarily _bad._ " Cactusflower said. "I mean, maybe it was the impostors who were shooting the ice at the dragonflame cactus to try and stop it. They wouldn't have succeeded if Blizzard hadn't been breathing his ice breath too, but somebody was obviously trying to help."

"That could have just been another Icewing trying to save their queen." Blizzard interjected.

"But the Rainwing at the arch! Maybe they were trying to catch the assassin, too!" Cactusflower persisted.

"Yeah!" Agreed Monsoon. "We don't _know_ that they'll cause chaos."

"Or maybe," Tempest added in annoyed tones. "The Rainwing was trying to stop Macadamia from apprehending the assassin, and they're in league with him!"

"We don't know anything for sure!" Kraken exclaimed. "Let's just follow these impostors. We know that they were behind that column, right? That's where the ice came from. So we start there, and follow the scratches in the ice. Claws leave them all over the place here." He gestured first to a huge column across from them, then to the trail of scratches in the ice left behind him.

"Two problems with that." Tempest griped. "One; how do we tell which scratches are their's? There must be hundreds of Icewing tracks around here. And two; what about saving the other queens? I can't say I care particularly, but I do enjoy pointing out the flaws in other dragon's plans." Destiny looked like she was on the verge of clawing Tempest's eyes out, and the others weren't far behind her.

"Simple." Macadamia replied. All eyes turned to him. "If they're impersonating us, not all of them are Icewings. Icewing have specially ridged claws, so their tracks will be different from other tribes. We find out what Icewing claw marks look like, then what ours look like, so we can follow the ones that look the same. And the answer to the second problem is pretty easy too. If these dragons are impersonating us, or in league with the assassin, then they must know the assassin's route. Hence, to keep up the pretense, they will go to the next destination, in this case the Mud Kingdom, to either help or stop the assassin. So those problems aren't really as problematic as you implied." _Shoot._ His cover blown again. Macadamia didn't want his friends to know that he was smart, because then he would constantly be asked to solve problems. It was kind of selfish, and he knew that he could solve most of the problems, but what about the ones that he couldn't? He'd have to let everyone down. Obviously at this point his cover was blown. He supposed that he'd just have to deal with his anxieties.

"How did you come to that conclusion? You're just a Rainwing, like I said before. They're stupid." Tempest snarled.

"Haven't you figured it out? Macadamia is much smarter than he lets on. Quite the opposite with you. Don't know why he didn't share this with us sooner." Cactusflower interjected. Monsoon, as always, wholeheartedly supported anything said by the sharp Sandwing.

"Well, I just figured that-that…" Macadamia stammered.

"It doesn't really matter. The longer we stand here talking, the farther away our impostors, and the assassin, get." Kraken interrupted. "Not to be rude, but it's time to get this show on the road!"


	13. Chapter 13-Siren

**Chapter Thirteen**

 **Siren**

Siren stepped out of the sling onto the somewhat less frigid ground. Actually, it was perfectly fine. On their way to the Mudwing Kingdom to save Queen Moorhen, they had to pass through the Sandwing Kingdom. But they hadn't reached it yet. It was getting late, and all needed a rest, so they had stopped at a spot where the Ice Kingdom merged with the Sand kingdom. The temperature was just right, and a lazy stream meandered peaceably through it.

"This place is wonderful!" She exclaimed happily. "Perhaps we should build a town here and name it something wonderful, like Haven." Her friends nodded wholeheartedly.

"That's a great idea! I'll get some wood!" Rhododendron exclaimed. Oops.

"Guys, I wasn't serious. You can stop." She really wished that she could turn off her magical persuasion voice. Whatever she said was taken quite seriously by anyone who heard it. That was mostly why she didn't talk much, unless there was something that needed to be settled, like an argument or dispute. Despite the synonymity of those two words, Siren counted them as vaguely different things that both needed to be avoided and stopped. Luckily, her voice worked now, and her friends ceased in the activity they had divulged themselves in, which was attempting to build a village. They weren't exactly architects, and they didn't have much time, so mostly it was just a pile of sticks.

"Okay, first thing's first. Fire. It's getting dark, and when it gets dark, it gets cold. I'm alright with that, but you all should probably have something to warm up your scales." Crystal commanded. This task was covered by Darkmystic, who silently blew a stream of flame at the pile of sticks. They quickly caught on fire. Siren wasn't exactly fond of fire. She liked warmth, but not when flames were an added bonus. They were too unpredictable, and reminded her of the firebombing of the Summer Palace. She had not actually been alive at that time, but she had read many scrolls on the subject, and was always horrified by it. That's why the assassin's plan to kill Queen Glacier with a dragonflame cactus had shocked and terrified her. Dragonflame cactuses were extremely dangerous, and she doubted the purpose of their creation was anything good. So although she decided to enjoy the warmth of the crackling fire, she did so from a distance. It was rather pleasant, and soon her friends had all settled down to sleep as the sky grew dark. The day had passed so quickly, with them spending their last hours in the cave the previous night, departing soon after they heard the news that it was time to fulfill the prophecy, then flying furiously for most of the night, stopping at sunrise at the Scorpion Den to purchase cloaks for the Ice Kingdom, then flying again till they reached the Ice Palace, with one brief respite to discover Brook's prophetic fire. They stopped the murder of Queen Glacier, and flew all afternoon until they reached this place, a final rest stop. She was tired, and she had a hunch that everyone else was as well. Especially Scorpion, who was so exhausted that he hadn't even completed his paranoid check of their surroundings before settling down for the night. There wasn't much, just the stream that ran through the clearing and through a screen of trees, behind which Siren suspected was another clearing. She was right. As her eyes closed and she slipped into sleep, she made a silent wish that this quest to save Pyrrhia would succeed, and that she and her friends could become the heroes she always imagined they would be.


	14. Chapter 14-Kraken

**Yeah, definitely my most gory chapter...Kraken's dream is something that I never dreamed I could write. Lucky you. I did. Still...not TOO bad, I guess. Read on if you want to! Don't say I didn't warn you! Man, this dragon is a basket-case.**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

 **Kraken**

Kraken shifted uncomfortably in his sleep. His mind was filled with a nightmare. It started out well enough. He and his friends were flapping through a blue cloudless sky. Even though he didn't have wings, Kraken was gliding through the air like magic in this dream. Kraken called something, and they all landed and began walking along a dusty path. It wasn't long before they came to a fork in the road. Two paths branched off with no apparent ends. They looked identical in practically every way, except for the signs labeling them. On the left, the trail was labeled _The Right Way_. The trail on the right was labeled _The Wrong Way_. A sign in the center said _Choose Your Way, And May You Lead Your Friends Correctly_. Kraken, after some consideration, turned down the path on the right. His friends followed, and then the trails disappeared. They were flying again. The sun shone, and all seemed well. But it wasn't long before the sky darkened. Clouds shrouded the brilliant sun, and soon the sky was covered in gray and black, roiling and whirling in eternal turmoil. The winds battered them to and fro, but still Kraken urged his friends on. Lightning flickered and thunder crashed. Rain pounded, but onward they flew. Where, Kraken didn't know. But he was determined to get there.

Out of nowhere, it seemed, a group of dragons appeared in the sky. A blue Icewing with malicious features, a leering Mudwing spouting flames, a Nightwing with a contorted facing roaring silently. A Rainwing deep red and black, somehow looking far more deadly than any others in the tribe, claws glinting dangerously. A huge Sandwing whose tail rattled angrily, like a deadly snake poised to strike. A wingless Seawing, like himself, only darker, with a scowling snout and glittering eyes. And finally, a furious Skywing whose scales shined with ferocity. The other Seawing led the violent doppelgangers of Kraken's friends with ease and confidence, calling out commands as they glided in fearsome formation towards Kraken and his team. Kraken deployed his team, diving at the dragons approaching, but they were overcome with almost ridiculous ease. Kraken watched in horror as the alternate Icewing tore through Blizzard's wings and threw the helpless dragons towards the ground, screaming and trailing blue blood, where he crashed on the rocks below with sickening cracks. His own blood curdled as Monsoon charged at the other Mudwing, only to be met with a wall of flame. Kraken's friend roared as his scales burned and, overcome by his pain, he too fell to the ground. Destiny was neatly sliced by the overbearing Nightwing, and yet another broken body crumbled. One by one, Kraken watched his friends die painful deaths at the hands of their impostors, until only he was left.

Entering a panicked dive, Kraken hurtled towards the ground, where he could see his friend's mangled remains lying. He sobbed silently, then watched in shock as they were reincarnated, whole again. He cried out in relief and beckoned them to join him, so that they could save the queens together, but his friends shook their head solemnly. Above, Kraken saw his doppelganger repeat the motion, but with different results. They rose to his call, and joined the group of dragons following the twisted Seawing. Kraken cried out, but when no reply came, he flew to follow. When he had risen as high as the group of dragons, they turned, with Kraken's own impostor at the head.

Kraken was shocked at the pure hate in the dragon's face, and momentarily froze. The Seawing raised his talons and advanced on the paralyzed Kraken, drawing closer and closer. _He's coming to kill me._ Kraken realized. _It's my turn to die._

Kraken awoke suddenly, shaking uncontrollably. When they had camped out in this clearing that evening, after many hours spent flying nonstop towards the Mudwing Kingdom, it had been warm, but now it was night, and much colder. It wasn't only temperature that was causing Kraken to shiver. The wingless Seawing had just had the most terrifying nightmare he had ever had. It incorporated all of his greatest fears; leading his friends down the wrong path, confronting the hostile doppelgangers, who turned out to be completely canon to the prophecy, and not being a strong enough leader for his friends, being usurped and having his trusted companions follow another, who would lead them better than Kraken had.

 _It was only a dream._ Kraken murmured inside his head to comfort himself. _Only a dream._ He glanced at his friends. They were all sleeping peacefully. He was the only one awake. And he didn't feel like he would be going to sleep anytime soon. For a Seawing, when in doubt, the old saying went, go to water. Luckily, a stream ran through their resting place, emerging from a screen of trees. Kraken guessed that there was another clearing behind it. Perhaps he would sleep in the stream on _that_ side, so as to not wake his friends if he had another nightmare. Eager to get in the water, he slid into the stream, deciding he would follow the gentle current to the other side of the trees underwater, to still his rattling brain. The cool wetness surrounding him soothed Kraken, as only water can soothe a Seawing. Sticking close to the bottom of the stream, he walked a little ways, glancing up once to see the shadows of many trees. The tree screen. _Just a little bit farther, and I'll be on the other side._ After several more steps, he determined that he was far enough to be a decent distance into the opposite clearing. Just to make sure, he diverted his eyes up once more. And that was when he saw the dragon staring into the stream.


	15. Chapter 15-Flicker

**Yeah...Flicker's dream was written by my sister to mock me for Kraken's dream. After she read that chapter, she finished up after the first word I had written in the next one, which was Flicker. I'd offer a better explanation, but my demented sister is trying to eat my toes right now, so yeah...**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

 **Flicker**

Flicker was watching the author die a painful death, ripped in half by a hideous leering doppelganger, before crumpling to the ground as a lifeless corpse. Ah, well, life goes on, she thought. Then she woke up. It was all just a dream. The author came to her, and soothed her. Then she was impaled by a sharp rock, and her corpse was eaten by a Nightwing who swooped in from above, all punishment for the author because she was ruining her sister's favorite ship, and killing off Rhododendron. (That was not foreshadowing, people!) _Then_ Flicker woke up for real. _Well that was a strange dream._ She snorted inside her head. A quick scan of the clearing revealed that all of the others were still asleep. Flicker's head filled with thoughts of a mysterious fourth wall, and a puppetmaster author controlling it all. _This is ridiculous!_ She scolded herself. _Too many fantasy scrolls._ The fire had smoldered down to glowing orange embers, much the same color as her scales, and she blew a fresh burst of flame onto the blackened pile of sticks, setting them ablaze again. _All I need is a nice fly to clear my head._ She thought. So, spreading her majestic wings, she shot into the sky like a fluorescent orange rocket.

The wind blew gently, not providing any resistance to her powerful wings, and she circled around the clearing, eyes closed happily. _I must look like an oversized bird of prey._ She thought again, chuckling quietly to herself. _Laughing! Can't let the others hear me doing that._ Her eyes rolled, proving that even without anyone watching her she could be sarcastic and difficult. She had to keep up her facade. Sass and sarcasm were her mask, as well as an affected air of indifference. Of course, there was some truth to her actions. She had every bit of the sassy and difficult character she showed the world, but also a good bit more compassion then she would ever reveal. It wouldn't do to show weakness, especially to her friends. She felt like she needed to be the one who would always be constant, an anchor in the raging river of dragon emotions, albeit one that was hard to get along with. But troubles of how others saw her and how she felt she needed to be were blown away as she circled and flapped her troubles away, eyes closed, lost to the sky.


	16. Chapter 16-Tempest

**Chapter Sixteen**

 **Tempest**

 _Tempest._ The grumpy Skywing was having a dream. Well, less of a dream and more of a memory. _I'll call you Tempest._ It was his mother's voice. He hadn't heard that since...a long time ago. He opened his eyes to see a brilliant red Skywing with golden hues holding him close. The dream/memory changed. Tempest saw his young dragonet self playing in the snow. His mother laughed.

"Not even bothered by the cold, are you? You're something else, my little Tempest." Again, the dream changed. He was with his mother, when rough talons closed around his forearms.

"The dragonet is the Skywing from the prophecy. We need him. Say goodbye, Amber." His mother tried to stop the other dragons, but they yanked him away, setting flight.

"Stay strong, Tempest!" His mother called up to him. "We will find each other one day!" But they never had.

It was on the flight to the grove that Tempest first heard his voices.

"Derp, there goes Morm." A goofy voice muttered from deep inside him. Tempest quickly established that this was his stupid voice, and that listening to it would be unwise.

"Well, wherever we're going, we can make new friends to help us get over this trauma." Said another voice. Since the tone was calm and reasonable, Tempest assumed that this was his rational side.

"No." A final voice called stubbornly. "We can not make friends. We can't form attachments to any dragons lest they be taken away from us again." Tempest guessed that this new voice was his irrational side. It was very convincing.

"Seriously, this is like the only experience we've had with this sort of thing. We don't really know that this will happen again. It probably won't." His reasonable side pointed out.

"Nope. Trauma, alone, broken heart, it's all gonna happen. We have to lock ourselves up and become super difficult to get along with so that we don't get hurt again. This to infinity I win!" His irrational voice urgently put in the last word.

"Shoot." His rational voice said, then all was silent in Tempest's head.

Unreasonableness had triumphed, and so Tempest did as the irrational side of him had bid, closing himself off to protect his fragile emotions. He never told anyone about his voices, either, which was probably good, because then they would know that he was really messed up. Hence, Tempest's earliest memories were not exactly the happiest.

Tempest woke up spontaneously in the middle of the night. Kraken was gone, presumably in the stream, but the rest were still sleeping soundly. He grunted and rolled onto his back, deciding he would skip any nightmare drama and just try to get back to sleep. As he scared at the sky, all his senses jumped into full alert, and he jumped as well. There was a bright orange Skywing circling the clearing, and Tempest decided to go pay them a visit.


	17. Chapter 17-Crystal

**Chapter Seventeen**

 **Crystal**

Crystal opened her eyes slowly. It was useless, she couldn't sleep. Ever since the Ice Kingdom...she took stock of the clearing, noting that all her friends could be seen peaceably sleeping. But...where was Flicker? Her heart leapt to her throat.

 _Have we been discovered? Is the assassin kidnapping us in our sleep so that we can't foil their plans? I should have found us a more hidden resting place!_ Crystal's eyes roamed wildly around the clearing, searching for the missing Skywing. The sky…? _Maybe the kidnapper is flying away with her now! I can still catch them!_ Her worried snout turned upward, where she saw a fluorescent orange shape soaring around the clearing. _Oh._ She thought in relief. _She must have had a bad dream and decided to take a flight to clear her head. She's safe, it's fine. Whew._ The Icewing's panicked heart fluttered back to a steady pace. _Wow, who knew I could get so worked up over sassy old Flicker._ She smirked mentally. All her friends were very important to her, and she was excited now that they were saving the land of Pyrrhia. She was the leader, as voted by her democratic friends, and now nothing in all of Pyrrhia was going to stop her from saving it.

She lay her head down to go back to sleep, when the stream caught her eye. _I'm thirsty!_ She realized. _Well, that proves the convenience of streams._ Crystal strolled over and drank her fill. _Much better._ She was thinking, when she saw slight ripples spreading across the stream. Very faint. _Ripples? That's not natural._ She zoomed in closer for a better look of the water. She scanned the stream, but all she could see was the inky night sky reflected on the water. Her sky blue head glimmered into view. She stared at the ripply, distorted reflection skeptically. Her scales hadn't gone over as well as she had thought they would in the Ice Kingdom. Although they gifted her with enhanced strength, they really stopped her from fitting in from her own tribe. Other Icewings had blue scales, but their's always had a glimmer of white when the light hit the pale blue, or it was just an icy undertone. Her's were blue through and through. But she couldn't pity herself. She should get back to sleep. Crystal was just about to turn away when a dragon erupted from the lake.


	18. Chapter 18-Blizzard

**Chapter Eighteen**

 **Blizzard**

Blizzard tossed and turned. In his mind, he was surrounded by dragons, Icewing, pointing at his scales and laughing. They came closer and closer, trapping him. He felt them squeezing, and suddenly he was gasping for breath as he suffocated in the crowd of ridiculing dragons. He woke up panting, noticing that both Tempest and Kraken were gone. He guessed that Kraken was in the stream and Tempest was flying around the clearing. He could see flashes of his crimson scales. Bad dreams must have been circling around the camp. Blizzard remembered the cave to the side of the clearing. It looked refreshingly cool, cooler than the clearing that he was in with the crackling fire. Besides, it looked close enough that if Blizzard's friends woke up and panicked trying to figure out where he was, he could hear their troubled screams and come running. Yes, a cave would be a nice place to spend the remainder of the night, if not a little hard. He decided to pilfer some of the furry blankets they had purchased in Possibility to create a mattress of sorts. He managed to do so quietly, without waking any of his friends, and then crept towards the cave.

As Blizzard lay down on the plush rug of blankets he had created, the cold cave air washed over him and he sighed. This was far more comfortable than the searing, melting heat of fire. He slipped once again into sleep, only this one peaceable, without any dreams. In the shadows of the cave, he looked like nothing more than an oddly colored rock. When he woke, it was to fire.


	19. Chapter 19-Brook

**Chapter Nineteen**

 **Brook**

Brook shrieked as what she thought had been an oddly colored rock shifted, revealing a dragon face. She had crawled blearily into the cave to escape the din of night time noises, lighting a fire to see if she could pull anything more prophetic from her flames. And now the rock had turned into a dragon.

In hindsight, Brook realized that it was a strange assumption that the dark blue lump atop a cushion of furs was a rock, but it was late and she was tired, so her brain wasn't functioning at it's best. At this point she had obviously discovered that it wasn't a rock, it was a dragon. An Icewing, as was observable by his unique horns and whip thin tail that lashed angrily as he lept into battle stance. An Icewing? Why would an Icewing be out here? And why where his scales blue? A million questions ran through her brain. But she didn't say any of them. She just stood there, frozen, possibly hoping to melt into the walls and disappear. It was the Icewing who asked the question.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He hissed.

"B-Brook." She stuttered quietly. He frowned.

"What's that? Speak up!"

"Brook." She said again, louder this time.

"Hmmph." The Icewing said. "Why are you in here?" He looked as if a terrible thought had just struck him. "How did you get here?" He growled, looking very hostile.

"I came across the rocky clearing." She said, not wanting this dragon to know where her friends were.

"What about the dragons who were there?" The Icewing asked, seeming worried. Brook thought back to the many rocks in the clearing.

"Those were dragons?" Gosh, what was wrong with her? Why did she keep mistaking dragons for rocks?

"I must _really_ be tired." She mused.

"What?" The Icewing asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. I came to this cave to…" Her mind scrambled desperately for an excuse. It wouldn't do to tell any dragon she met the secrets of her prophetic fire. She would just tell a part truth. "...escape from the noise of the night." There. That worked. She was surprised at herself. This was more talking than she normally did. The Icewing harrumphed and settled into a seated position, his mysterious fears apparently assuaged. But Brook's weren't.

 _An Icewing! His scales are_ blue _! Dark blue! What does this mean? It's like Crystal! Could he be from the prophecy too? But that would mean that there is another group of prophecy dragons!_ Brook's mind reached the logical conclusion that was the truth, but dismissed it as soon as it registered, despite the niggling in the back of her head. _Impossible! Maybe he was meant to be in the prophecy instead of Crystal, or there's more than one prophecy_ Icewing _out there, but not the other tribes. But what is he doing here?_ The Icewing was still sitting, observing her, probably with a very suspicious train of thoughts running through his brain. His scales were stunning, but he seemed very wary of Brook.

 _I wonder why._ She thought. _Anyone who knows me can tell you that I'm no threat to anyone. I'm quite useless, in fact._ Despite her newly-found abilities, Brook still felt like this was the truth. The silence was becoming slightly awkward.

"Um…" She decided to figure out a little bit more about this dragon, even if she _was_ shy. Crystal and the others would do it, and so would she. Brook started with a simple question. "What's your name?"


	20. Chapter 20-Monsoon

**Chapter Twenty**

 **Monsoon**

Monsoon missed mud. He missed splashing in the marshes with his sibs, having a normal Mudwing life. He remembered his siblings only faintly, mostly them staring in shock as he was dragged away by the Prophets. Two sisters and one brother. He could recall their young faces, but not any names or personalities. Why did the prophets have to take him away from that? _Come on now,_ he would think. _If you weren't taken to the grove, you would have never met Cactusflower. Or the rest of your friends._ It wasn't _completely_ a bad thing. But he still sometimes wished that he had had the chance to grow up in the Mud Kingdom with his family. Perhaps once they had saved the queens he would try to find his lost sibs. Even if he wasn't the bigwings, he still just wanted to reunite with them.

Right now, Monsoon was sleeping still. He was having a dream, but not a nightmare, like the ones his lucky friends were having. In his mind he was rolling in mud puddles and feeling the wet dirt ooze through his talons. As the warm mud enveloped him, three dragons came down from the sky. He just knew that they were his sibs. Their faces were fuzzy, but they were obviously Mudwings, and he jumped out of the puddles to wrap his wings around them. Then they all splashed and played in the mud. Simplistic, but ideal for Monsoon. There would be no meetings for this dragon tonight. He was fast asleep with dreams of mud and family.


	21. Chapter 21-Destiny

**Chapter Twenty-One**

 **Destiny**

Destiny rarely doubted her destiny. She would save the queens of Pyrrhia. But tonight was different. Her snoozing head swirled with questions. What if they weren't impostors? What if the so called fakes were actually the real prophecy dragons, and she and her friends were never meant to save Pyrrhia? What if the impostors were helping the assassin, and the one of the queens actually died? What if the assassin became upset at his loss and came back to try and kill Queen Glacier again? Or the dragons who had stopped their plot? What if the impostors discovered that they were following them and came back to murder them in their sleep? What if…

Destiny's head snapped up. Her anxieties had woken her, and anyway, Nightwings are more nocturnal than the other tribes. The light from the moons spilled down onto her scales, and she felt a little calmer, but not much. There was still a thumping worry that grew as she lay her head back down to try to fall back asleep. Not only that, but now that the moons were out and the stars were shining, she didn't feel tired at all. Just very alert, and very bothered. Why was sleep always so difficult at the times where she needed it most? She would have emitted a low growl of frustration, that is, if she were able to talk at all. Which she couldn't. Being mute was such an annoying handicap. Talking in dragon's minds was irritating when she ended up having to fill in all the curious dragons around her what she had said. If she could have screamed, she would have, several times by now, out of pure frustration. She could get very angry.

Scanning the clearing, she noted that most of her friends were gone, probably elsewhere. She noticed a flicker of firelight from the cave nearby. Probably where Tempest had fled. Kraken was most likely in the stream, and Blizzard...who knew? Monsoon was still sleeping peacefully, occasionally twitching a leg as he dreamed with a grin on his snout. Macadamia was mostly blending into the grass, but every now and then a streak of white fear spiraled wildly across the dark green scales, helping Destiny locate him, before the Rainwing's natural camouflage instinct swallowed it up. Cactusflower appeared to be in a calm slumber, but you never could tell with that Sandwing. Destiny stood up and rolled her shoulders, stretching her arms and wings to ease the lumps that formed in restless sleep. _Elsewhere...that sounds nice._ She thought. _Maybe I'll find somewhere to spend the night, or what's left of it. Somewhere that gets a lot of light from the moons…_ She patrolled the clearing, lifting off into the night sky, staying low. _Aha!_ She spotted a rock, just outside the clearing, with a beam of moonlight funneling onto the cool stone. She dove in for a landing, alighting on the rock with barely a sound. She turned around several times before plopping down with a sigh. The concentrated silvery light spilled over her scales, setting her anxieties to rest. And her. She shut her eyes, slipping away into the pleasant, silent land that we know as peaceful sleep.


	22. Chapter 22-Blizzard

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

 **Blizzard**

"Blizzard." He said. "My name is Blizzard." Inwardly, he cringed. Redundancy was not a quality that he usually possessed, but this Mudwing was confusing his brain. What did she say her name was? _Brook._ He thought. Not your typical Mudwing name. _It suits her._ He thought again, glancing at the dragon across from him. The firelight glinted off her chocolate scales, giving hints of gold to the rich brown. _Stop thinking about scales!_ He scolded himself. The Mudwing, Brook, looked a little afraid of him. _Well, I was a bit hostile at first._ He felt slightly bad. But he hadn't known that she wasn't evil! When she had said that she came across the clearing, Blizzard had panicked, thinking about his friends. Luckily, she had thought that they were rocks. This blunder was oddly endearing, although Blizzard couldn't picture why. Brook had turned out to be fine, not a murderer, not an assassin. She was just a normal Mudwing. _More than normal._ He admitted, glancing at her scared, inquisitive eyes. She had seemed shy at first, but she had endured Blizzard's interrogation without a qualm, and even responded with her own question. Now that all questions were appeased, there was a long and awkward silence. Blizzard wondered if he should say something to break the ice. Break the ice. Hilarious. While he was rapidly trying to think of something to say, Brook seemed to be puzzling something out in her mind.

"Your scales." She said. "Why are they blue? I mean, not a normal Icewing blue. _Dark_ blue." His scales? Oh, moons, his scales! Could he tell this dragon the truth? If he didn't, she'd probably figure it out herself anyway. The truth it was, then.

"If you must know, I'm the Icewing from the Pyrrhia Prophecy, and the dragons in the clearing are my friends, raised together from hatching, like the prophecy says. We're staying here for the night, and we were just in the Ice Kingdom. We saved Queen Glacier. And now we're going to save the Mudwing queen." He unfurled his deep blue wings. Brook looked faint.

"I-it can't be!" She gasped.

"Why not?" Blizzard said, curious. Had she met the impostors?

"Because," She cried. "I'm from the prophecy too!"


	23. Chapter 23-Rhododendron

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

 **Rhododendron**

Rhododendron slowly opened one eye, then the other. Then she jumped up gleefully. It wasn't morning, but she always needed to wake up happy. That wasn't a problem now. She had been in sort of a constant state of joy ever since she and her friends had saved Queen Glacier. But they hadn't caught the assassin, which Rhododendron felt partly responsible for. Maybe if she had responded a little faster to Crystal's signal, she would've been able to reach the assassin before he or she slipped away. _There was also that Rainwing._ She reminded herself. Ah, yes. The mysterious dragon had slammed into her on her way to the assassin. He had only been visible for an instant, but he had looked surprised and startled and nervous and anxious. _Twitchy._ That was the word Rhododendron had thought of. He might have looked like an anxious wimp, but that dragon had _hurt_! She regretted blowing her camouflage with the green pain that naturally overtook her scales whenever she rammed into dragons that _felt like a thrice-cursed wall!_ She swore that she could still feel a lump on her head. But, mystery was intriguing, and intrigue made her happy, so the little Rainwing still felt as cheerful, if mildly concussed, as ever.

Then why had she woken up? Definitely not bad dreams. She never had those. Obviously most of her friends had, since only Monsoon and Scorpion were still sleeping peacefully. She glanced at the screen of trees. _Trees!_ Rhododendron loved trees, she loved to hang from their branches and play with their leaves and eat their fruit. Maybe she would sleep in the trees! She giggled. What a novel idea! There hadn't been any trees to sleep on in the cave, but she had napped on plenty in the many forests that dotted the Claws of Clouds Mountains. _Sleeping in trees._ Oh, boy! Fate must have waken her so that she could spend her first night in a tree!

"Thank you, fate!" She whispered giddily as she flapped haphazardly to the trees. She found a branch that she liked, near the top, where she could look out over all of her friends, or what was left of them in the clearing. This was going to be fun! She wrapped her tail around the branch and settled down. _Nice and sturdy._ She thought. _Ah…_ And she slept, letting yellows and pinks drift dreamily across her scales. That was, until some dragon's nervous poking woke her up.


	24. Chapter 24-Kraken

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

 **Kraken**

Kraken pounced out of the stream and onto the unsuspecting dragon. It was dark, but even without night vision or glow in the dark scales, Kraken could make out the distinctive features of an Icewing. Why would an Icewing be out here?

"What are you doing this far from the Ice Kingdom?" He growled, claws wrapped around the mysterious dragon's neck, pinning-him? Her? Kraken couldn't tell-to the ground. In response, the dragon hissed angrily and surged up, tossing Kraken off of them and sending the Seawing tumbling back into the stream. With a splash, he sunk to the bottom before bobbing back up.

"I might ask you a similar question, Seawing." The Icewing seethed. Kraken suddenly noticed that there were other dragons in the clearing behind the Icewing. The Icewing noticed him notice. "Let's continue our conversation somewhere else." The Icewing lunged for him, too quickly for Kraken to react, and grabbed him by the throat. He or she surged into the sky, dragging the strangled and infuriated Kraken with them.

When they had flown a ways away from the clearing, the Icewing veered towards the ground. They released Kraken several feet before landing, and he somersaulted horns over tail, bruising himself badly. The Icewing landed, and Kraken lept up, ready to fight.

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA DRAGGING ME OUT HERE?!" He roared. The Icewing rumbled angrily.

"I'm not letting any half-baked ASSASSIN Seawing near my friends!" Was the angry reply.

"ASSASSIN?! Is that what you think I am?" He was really steaming now. "I'm no assassin! And by the way, you and your friends were camping out right next to me and mine! Coincidence? I think not! It's obvious who the REAL assassin is here!" Kraken's claws clenched. It was clear to him now that this dragon was female, but gender was not going to stop his fury. The Icewing seemed to have calmed down, and Kraken's rage was not provoking her anymore.

"Alright. It's obvious that there's been some sort of mistake here. Neither one of us is an assassin, however, I am Crystal, and you are what?" Kraken eyed her thoughtfully. Crystal. Pretty name. The dragon wasn't exactly a Queen Scarlet herself, either.

"Kraken." He replied, setting his anger to rest.

"Kraken," the Icewing -Crystal- nodded. "So, Kraken, what happened to your wings." Wings? He immediately went back on the defensive. He had to tell a lie. Pretty or not, he wasn't going to go around telling any dragon he met that he was from the prophecy. Who knew where that information could go?

"I lost them in a battle with an angry Skywing."

"Really?" She seemed skeptical. "No scars that I can see."

"It's dark." He pointed out. Crystal nodded again.

"You never answered my question earlier. Why are you here?" She asked.

"As I seem to recall, it was ME who asked YOU that." Kraken said.

"Just answer the question, Seawing." She hissed, losing her patience. Kraken paused for a moment to think. He could tell a little bit of the truth here.

"My friends and I were tracking a band of dragons impersonating us, and we stopped in a clearing opposite the one you were staying at to sleep." He shuddered slightly, remembering the dream he had had. "Hideous impostors." He added. Crystal snorted.

"Really? Well, my friends and I are in a different boat. We're heading to the Mudwing kingdom." Kraken frowned.

"The Mudwing kingdom? Why?" Crystal rolled her eyes.

"To save the queen. Haven't you figured it out?" She spread her wings, which, Kraken realized with a sickening feeling, were sky blue. "I'm from the Pyrrhia Prophecy."

"WHAT?!" Kraken roared. He stumbled backwards as the hideous doppelgangers from his dream returned into his mind, more horrific than ever. Crystal-she was from the prophecy? SHE was one of the impostors? But...not an impostor! Her scales were actually blue, and she had enhanced strength, just like Blizzard. "No, no, no!" He growled. "This isn't happening! YOU'RE one of the impostors that we've been following?" Crystal bristled.

"Following? And, I assure you, I am no impostor! My friends and I are one hundred percent the dragons from the prophecy, and we are not impersonating ANYBODY!" Kraken's mind was reeling. Wait, he sensed a loophole in this dragon's story.

"How can I know that your friends really are from the prophecy?" He inquired suspiciously. Crystal rolled her shoulders.

"I guess that I'm taking you to meet my friends." She didn't look entirely happy at the idea. "Why is this so shocking to you, anyway? Usually, I think dragons should be quite impressed, but you're acting incredibly horrified at this idea." Kraken decided to tell the truth.

"Let's just say that you're not the only prophecy dragons around." Crystal gasped, then clutched Kraken's throat, her favorite method of transportation, and took off into the sky, back towards the clearing. Kraken was shaking with fear and surprise and anger. What would the other impostors be like? Again, he remembered his dream. He didn't think that this was going to end well. At all.


	25. Chapter 25-Darkmystic

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

 **Darkmystic**

Darkmystic didn't recognize the dragon on the rock. It was a female, and a Nightwing, like himself, with teardrop scales next to her eyes. Right now the dragon was sleeping peacefully, but Darkmystic figured that any moment now she would awaken, and possibly attack him. He decided to make the first move.

 _WHO ARE YOU?_ He yelled as loudly as he could inside her mind. It had the desired effect. The dragon leapt to her feet, but didn't make a sound. At least, not from her mouth.

 _WHAT do you think that you're doing, waking me up like that? And also, how are you doing that? Speaking in my mind? I thought that I was the only dragon who could do that._ A loud and furious voice came barreling into his mind, luckily calming down to a low simmer with a tinge of curiosity. Darkmystic was as surprised as she was. And also probably more confused. Should he tell her that he was from the prophecy?

 _I-I was struck mute at my hatching, so instead of mind-reading and seeing the future, I do this._ The dragon gasped without making a sound.

 _So was I! Oh my gosh, I've always_ wanted _to meet someone like me! Everyone always gets so curious as to what I'm saying when I talk in someone's head, and I can only do one dragon at a time, so mostly I don't talk much, but now I can talk to_ you _! What's your name? Mine's Destiny._ Destiny seemed very excited about this, and Darkmystic had to admit that he was too.

 _Darkmystic._ He 'said'.

 _At last, a kindred spirit! This is_ so _exciting! What are you doing here?_ Darkmystic figured that he could tell this dragon the truth. She basically just seemed to be excited and happy. Besides, if she was going to be his friend, she might as well know that he was from the prophecy.

 _Well, confidentially._ He projected. _I'm the Nightwing from the Pyrrhia Prophecy. My friends and I are on our way to the Mudwing kingdom. We just saved Queen Glacier in the Ice Kingdom!_ Destiny did not look as thrilled as he expected her to be. Not at all.


	26. Chapter 26-Flicker

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

 **Flicker**

Flicker roared in fury as she felt a dragon slam into her. She reered around, slashing the dragon, a shifty and grumpy looking Skywing, in the snout. He screamed in rage and pain, releasing his grip on Flicker. She felt herself falling, but quickly righted herself, soaring in for a landing just outside the clearing. The strange dragon followed her as she alighted on the ground. She whirled around, hissing.

"Don't try anything, idiot." She growled. "My talons are nice and clean right now, and I don't want to muck them up with any more of your blood." The Skywing looked as angry as she felt, and probably also looked.

"Is that a threat, dragon? Because I'd like to know what you were doing flying around the clearing that I and my-companions are sleeping in! What, planning to murder us in our sleep?" Flicker was outraged at this dragon's accusations.

"You and your companions? I didn't even know that you were there! I was just flying around, minding my own business, and you came up and attacked ME! So if anyone deserves an explanation, it definitely isn't you!" The dragon growled.

"Just minding your own business? Well, it looked like you were planning an attack to me, and that's not something that I can take lying down." He paused for a moment, as if he was listening to some small voices in his head, all the while retaining a furious look on his face. "SHUT UP!" He yelled suddenly. Flicker's look changed from anger to wariness.

"What are you, mentally disturbed? I DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING YET! By the way, in case you'd like to know the name of the dragon who's about to tear your scales off if you don't beat it, it's Flicker. Now leave me alone, and go back to your stupid campsite or whatever." Flicker stormed off, not even glancing back at the crazy dragon holding a demented conversation inside his head. Were all other Skywings like this? She hoped not. She decided to fly around a little bit more. Oh wait, she might get tackled by more slap-happy Skywings, possibly the same one. No thank you, back to the clearing and back to sleep it was. She burst into the clearing, just in time to see Crystal slam to the ground with an angry Seawing clutched in her talons.


	27. Chapter 27-Macadamia

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

 **Macadamia**

Macadamia nearly fell off the tree he was perched in when the dragon that he had been poking incessantly moved. He actually did when he saw the face of the dragon that had just woken up. The dragon, a female Rainwing, peered down at him.

"Ohmygosh, are you okay? HEY, were you poking me? Cause y'know I felt somebody poking me, and I woke up, by the way I was SLEEPING IN A TREE, right, like, so fun! Because it's a TREE! So then I woke up and you just fell off the tree, and did it hurt? I've never fallen off a tree before. How does it feel?" The dragon talked quickly, turning Macadamia's brain in circles while he paused for a moment to figure out what she had just said.

"Painful." He finally groaned, climbing back up the tree. The dragon nodded thoughtfully before speaking again.

"I thought it would, because, you know, you're FALLING, and hey, you're a Rainwing like me, that's GREAT what are you DOING here, what's you're NAME, I'm Rhododendron, nice to meet you."

"I'm Macadamia, and I don't think that this is the first time we've met. Didn't I slam into you at the Icewing castle?" Macadamia said.

"Oh YEAH, that's who you are, that HURT by the way, like, maybe even as much as falling off a tree, but I don't know for sure because, you know, I haven't ever fallen off a tree. What were you even doing in the Ice Kingdom anyway? It's so cold! I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't been saving Pyrrhia." Macadamia figured maybe he could stun this cheerful Rhododendron dragon enough by telling her that he was from the prophecy that she would stop talking.

"I'm from the prophecy, so my friends and I were saving Queen Glacier from an assassination attempt. I was just about to apprehend the assassin when I ran into you, and they escaped." Rhododendron was not at all deterred by this knowledge. In fact, her scales became a blinding neon yellow with swirling patches of hot pink.

"ME TOO! Oh, this is SO exciting, cause I'm from the prophecy and you're from the prophecy, so there must be TWO prophecy groups, so maybe we could all, like, save Pyrrhia together! I'm so happy!" She squealed, enveloping Macadamia in a tight rainbow hug.

"Wow." He gasped. "You're really exuberant."

"I KNOW right that's what all my friends always tell me, but happiness is the bestest thing in the whole world, and if we were all happy then there wouldn't be wars, or fights, or arguing and the world would be great so I try to make everybody happy so cheer up cause now we gotta go tell MY friends and then we can go tell YOUR friends and then we can team up and it will be SO GREAT!" Macadamia would have been shocked or scared, but the peppy Rainwing's glee was contagious, and he _did_ think that a team-up would be pretty beneficial to both groups, and besides, he didn't exactly have time to worry, since he was already being dragged into the clearing opposite his friend's campsite, where he saw an Icewing with glittering blue scales pinning Kraken to the ground.


	28. Chapter 28-Brook

**I have definitely made Brook a bolder character than I originally intended...Let's just go with that and say that Brook's experience saving the Icewing queen gave her a little more confidence, not self, and she is beginning to come out of her shell. Also, I apologize for any typos! Please point them out if you find them! It'll be like a game; identify my slip-ups! How did they even happen? I always thought that I was unfathomably perfect...kidding! Anyway, sorry I don't take more time to edit!**

 **Chapter Twenty-Eight**

 **Brook**

Brook's mind was reeling. There was _another_ group of prophecy dragons?! The Icewing, who had told her that his name was Blizzard, looked startled too.

"But...you're not hideous." He squeezed out. Brook was puzzled.

"What is that even supposed to _mean_?" She cried. Blizzard looked a little sheepish, and very embarrassed.

"I just meant that we've been following you for the entire afternoon, and I guess that you don't look at all like I expected."

"You've been following us?" Brook shrieked. And the Icewing was just starting to mellow out and become friendly. "What did you think that I was going to look like?" Blizzard shifted uncomfortably. Brook was definitely overcoming her shyness.

"Not pretty." He mumbled. Brook was flattered and furious at the same time. She really didn't know what to think of this dragon. Her emotions and thoughts were in total turmoil.

"I'm not even sure what to say to that!" She responded finally. "I'm going back to the clearing to think." She stormed out of the cave.

"Wait!" Blizzard charged after her. She continued walking, reaching the screen of trees in no time.

"You can stop following me!" She whirled around to face Blizzard. "I've had quite enough of dragons following other dragons." She stomped into the screen, emerging on the other side, her own clearing. She stopped short.

"Look…" Blizzard trailed off as he entered the clearing behind Brook. The scene confronting both of them was a thrashing Seawing being held in place by Crystal. Rhododendron was at the edge of the clearing, holding a nervous-looking Rainwing by the arm, and Flicker was as well, confused, smoke wreathing her horns. Siren and Scorpion lay asleep off to the side, but not for long. The sun was coming up, but it's warm rays didn't calm any of the dragons a bit. "Kraken!" Blizzard bellowed, charging at the Seawing being pinned down by Crystal. From the other side of the clearing, a red Skywing bounded towards Crystal as well.

"Crystal!" Brook screamed with panic in her voice. The Icewing glanced up at the two dragons bearing down on her, as Flicker growled and leaped towards the Skywing.

"Moons."


	29. Chapter 29-Destiny

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

 **Destiny**

Destiny couldn't believe her ears. She should have seen it coming. Mute Nightwing=Pyrrhia Prophecy. Wait. His friends and him? There were more? And her friends...

 _Moons!_ Destiny growled in the Nightwing's mind. She snatched his arm. _Darkmystic, you're coming with me, and if any of my friends are harmed by any of your friends, then my face will be the last one you ever see._ She paused. _Except for maybe Tempest. If your Skywing or whatever could just harm him the tiniest bit, I'd probably reward you. But still. Come on._ She yanked him after her, back into the clearing. Only two of her friends were still there. _Monsoon! Cactusflower!_ She yelled in turn in each of the dragon's minds. Cactusflower was the first to respond, leaping to her feet in a battle-ready crouch. _Where are the others?_ Destiny screeched. Cactusflower's snout took on a shocked expression as she realized that she had absolutely no idea.

"MONSOON!" She roared, shaking the snoozing Mudwing. "Wake up! We have to find the others." Monsoon sleepily got to his feet. The sun was rising, and with it, Destiny heard the roar of Blizzard screaming Kraken's name. Monsoon and Cactusflower looked alarmed. "That way." Cactusflower said, pointing to the screen of trees that the shout had came from behind. Destiny roughly dragged Darkmystic behind her as she charged towards the clearing. She saw Kraken being pinned by an Icewing. Tempest charging toward that Icewing with a Skywing in hot pursuit. Blizzard running towards the Icewing as well. Macadamia in the grips of a Rainwing. A Mudwing watching anxiously. Two sleeping dragons, a Seawing and a Sandwing. Monsoon and Cactusflower crashed through the trees to land next to her.

"Moons." Destiny heard the Icewing say. The Sandwing woke up.

"By all the snakes!" He cried, launching himself at Blizzard. The Rainwing holding Macadamia glanced at her claws, releasing Macadamia, who instantly ran towards Destiny. She herself was furious. She thundered towards the Sandwing. Cactusflower and Monsoon departed as well, Cactusflower leading the way towards the Rainwing. Darkmystic noticed, and sped after them. It was chaotic. Destiny was determined to stop these dragons before any of her friends got hurt.


	30. Chapter 30-Siren

**Chapter Thirty**

 **Siren**

Siren's head flooded with noise. It sounded like dragons-her friends-shouting. She opened her eyes, and what she saw alarmed her, to say the least. Who were these dragons attacking her friends and being attacked by her friends? No one had made contact yet, but the chaos was on the verge of conflict. It was all too much for the wingless Seawing.

"STOP!" She cried at the top of her lungs. This was one time that she was thankful for her magically persuasive voice. Her orders were immediately carried out, and all the dragons in the clearing, familiar and unfamiliar, stopped running or growling and turned to face Siren. The dragons may have stopped fighting, but they definitely weren't hypnotized.

"Now what?" Flicker growled. "Introductions or something lame like that?"

"Ummm…" Siren wasn't entirely sure what to say now. What were they going to do? She glanced pleadingly at Crystal. Catching the look, the Icewing came through and stepped forward, taking Siren's place as the center of attention, also thankfully releasing the Seawing that she had been pinning to the ground. Siren noticed that he didn't have any wings.

"Now. 'Introductions or something lame like that.' But I'm going to be a bit more 'inquisitive'. So," Crystal swung her head to scan over an unfamiliar Icewing, Mudwing, Nightwing, Rainwing, Sandwing, Seawing, and Skywing. "Who are you dragons and what are you doing here?"


	31. Chapter 31-Tempest

**Chapter Thirty-One**

 **Tempest**

Tempest rolled his eyes in disgust as his 'friends' started talking rapidly, trying to explain what sequence of events had resulted with them in the clearing and the chaos.

"Good. Keep the quotations on friends. These aren't your real friends. You can't have real friends. They might be taken away and you will be hurt." It was the voice in his head. The irrational one. He had decided to give them all names several years ago. The stupid one was Derp, the rational one was Rationale, and the other one was Umbrage. Rationale was the one who spoke up next.

"Seriously, we've gone over this before. We don't know that that will happen again. Seriously. One time! One time! Anyway, look at all these dragons here. There are our friends, and there are dragons who could potentially be our friends. Look, one's coming over now." Indeed there was. A bright yellow Rainwing with excited colors spiraling across her scales, giving her almost a glow in the steadily rising sun.

"Derp." Derp said. "She's purty."

"Hi! What's your name? I'm Rhododendron. You look grumpy. Are you grumpy?" Were the words spoken by the Rainwing.

"Careful." Umbrage said. "Don't give any indication that we would enjoy any sort of company or friendship." Tempest regarded the dragon, keeping a straight, uncooperative expression on his snout.

"My name is Tempest, and I am." Rhododendron looked excited.  
"Ooh, a challenge! Somebody needs cheering up!"

"Never going to happen. I would appreciate it if you left me alone."

"Nerp! She's purty!" Derp cried inside his head.

"What my daft companion is trying to communicate is that this dragon is attractive, and also surprisingly willing to put up with your very off-putting behavior. We don't want to scare her off." Rationale interpreted. Umbrage sniffed.

"Hardly likely. This Rainwing doesn't seem like she's going to go away. Look at her. She's chattering non-stop." It was true. Rhododendron was obviously oblivious to Tempest's inner conversation, and was filling the space with a stream of words. Tempest couldn't tell if they all went together or not.

"Whert doers chartter mearn?" Derp asked, ever the stupid one.

"Shut up!" Was the collaborative response from Umbrage and Rationale.

"Now, as we were saying…" Rationale began.

"No friends we are lonely I patent this to infinity I win hahaha!" Umbrage interjected.

"Fine." Rationale said. And the voices were gone.

Rhododendron drew her talking to a close.

"And that's why EVERYBODY should be happy and I'm trying to make everybody happy! What about you? What's your goal in life?" Heeding Umbrage's words of 'wisdom', Tempest scowled convincingly before replying.

"My goal is to be left alone by foolish dragons with unrealistic ideas of world peace or whatever, and have this whole prophecy nonsense finish up soon so I can live my life in seclusion and silence." Rhododendron cocked her head.

"I don't really feel like those are goals so much as wishes. But still, nice! Anyway, what do you think that Crystal's going to do? I think it would be GREAT if we all like teamed up to save the queens TOGETHER, and then...I'm not sure, but it would be cool! I'm so excited to meet everybody! They're your friends, right? What are they like?" Tempest frowned.

"I don't have any friends, but those idiots seem determined to have me venture with them on their pointless quest." Rhododendron finally looked a little bit shocked.

"No friends? That's terrible! I'll be your friend! Come on! You can meet MY friends and I can meet YOUR...whatevers, and this will be AMAZING, and ohmyGOSH I can't wait! Let's go!" She grasped Tempest's arm in her swirling rainbow scales and excitedly dragged the unwilling Skywing into the mass of dragons.


	32. Chapter 32-Scorpion

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

 **Scorpion**

Scorpion did not like these dragons one bit. The Skywing looked treacherous, the Seawing looked unstable, the Rainwing looked wimpy, the Icewing looked hostile. Mostly hostile. Scorpion didn't like the way he kept glancing at Brook. He had to protect his friends, and this Icewing was bothering him. The Mudwing looked stupid, the Sandwing looked shifty, and the Nightwing...Scorpion didn't like Nightwings, as a rule. Darkmystic was okay, since the shy dragon barely made the ranks of the haughty, full of themselves, very defensive dragons. This Nightwing was no exception. She looked furious and curious and imperious and irritated. Not a good combination. Scorpion would have to have words with this dragon, make sure she wasn't planning anything. He stalked towards the Nightwing, tail raised.

"You! Nightwing! What are you planning?" He barked. She turned her gaze to him. Scorpion frowned. Teardrop scales. Was she a mind-reader?

 _Um, I'm not 'planning' anything! Why would I be? Ugh. Sandwings. And by that I mean; Ugh. Paranoid Sandwings who constantly ask dragons what they are plotting. Which I'm guessing is what you do. Is it fun? What's it like to be a total bundle of paranoia and suspicion?_ Not a mind-reader then. Rather, this dragon was projecting her voice into his head, just like Darkmystic. Only Darkmystic was far less sassy.

"Dragons aren't always trustworthy. If you can't read minds, you don't know what they're thinking. What's it like always knowing what dragons are thinking? Oh, wait, you spoke inside my head, so you can't read minds. Must feel horrible, being such a failure in your own tribe." The Nightwing bristled and exhaled a snort of flame.

 _Can't read minds! Oh, gee, that's just lovely. So nice of you to bring up such a sensitive topic to someone who might get riled up over that statement. Oh wait, I_ will _get riled up over that statement. How lovely. For you. And that was sarcasm, by the way, in case your tiny Sandwing brain couldn't tell._ She spread her wings and flexed her talons. Scorpion wasn't entirely happy either.

 _Tiny Sandwing brain, indeed!_ He snorted internally. _Well, my brain might be small, but my claws definitely aren't._ Curling the appendages in question, he poised himself, ready to attack in case this Nightwing fought.

He snarled. _This definitely isn't improving my behavior towards Nightwings._


	33. Chapter 33-Cactusflower

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

 **Cactusflower**

Cactusflower lashed her tail. She realized that it was dangerous, and she might stab somebody, but she was so frustrated and confused right now, that, honestly, impaling some dragon would make her feel a lot better. But she couldn't bow to her violent tendencies. She would just pretend that she was killing dragons. Inwardly, she smirked silently. That sounded a little messed up. Monsoon was seated next to her, as always. The Sandwing calmed her restless tail. She didn't want to accidentally poison the big Mudwing. She rolled her eyes in the direction of Destiny. Destiny was definitely an aggressive dragon. At the moment, she had picked a fight with a Sandwing. Twice her size. Luckily, Kraken intervened before the hissing Destiny could get herself killed.

"Enough of this chaos!" He snapped. Destiny sat down, begrudgingly obeying, but the Sandwing did not back down.

"Why should I listen to you, Seawing? Crystal is my leader."

 _Uh oh._ Cactusflower thought, less worried and more amused. _Kraken doesn't like challenges to his authority._ The wingless dragon did indeed appear quite ruffled at that.

"Crystal?" He looked at the sky blue Icewing perched atop a high rock, irately observing the crowd of dragons. Kraken scowled and marched up onto the rock. "ALL OF YOU DRAGONS SHUT UP!" He roared, effectively silencing all assembled. "Now, I know who WE are," Kraken said, gesturing to Cactusflower, Monsoon, Destiny, Macadamia, Tempest, and Blizzard. "So why don't you dragons tell us who you are." The annoyed Icewing, now identified as Crystal, stepped forward.  
"I've already told you, you idiot, we are the dragons from the prophecy, and you can get your phony tails out of here before we kick them for you." Cactusflower gasped. This she had NOT known. Monsoon appeared to be struck the same way.

"How is that even possible?" Cactusflower hissed, stepping forward. "If you know Kraken, then he must have told you that he's from the prophecy, too, along with all of us. Look at him. No wings. Look at Destiny. No voice. Look at Blizzard. Blue scales. You're the impostors here." Monsoon was nodding furiously, but Crystal was more skeptical.

"If you ARE the-or should I say A-Sandwing from the prophecy, then you'll know that I'm telling the truth. WE ARE NOT IMPOSTORS." It was true. Cactusflower didn't feel any tingling in her tail, like she usually did when she heard a lie. This was one hundred percent legitimate. She sat down. Crystal nodded, having appeased the shocked group of Cactusflower's friends that she was not telling a lie. "Good. Now that that's settled, I suppose we should all learn names." Kraken rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'm Kraken, the Icewing is Blizzard, the Mudwing is Monsoon, the Nightwing is Destiny, the Rainwing is Macadamia, the Sandwing is Cactusflower, and the Skywing is Tempest. Now what about YOU?" Crystal tossed her head.

"I am Crystal, the Mudwing is Brook," she pointed a talon at a chocolate Mudwing. Blizzard was looking at her. Cactusflower smirked. The big Icewing obviously liked the little Mudwing. "The Nightwing is Darkmystic." Darkmystic was a shy black dragon who definitely did not look like he was enjoying the prospect of another group of prophecy dragons. "The Rainwing is Rhododendron." A cheerful yellow and pink dragon was Rhododendron. She had Tempest's arm clutched playfully and happily in her talon. "The Sandwing is Scorpion." Cactusflower sniffed. How lovely. Her own doppelganger. Then she had to remind herself that they were not doppelgangers. Anyway, the Sandwing she had already seen. He was the one that had been about to fight Destiny. "The Seawing is Siren." Siren turned out to be a quiet turquoise dragon, with no wings to speak of. If Cactusflower hadn't already determined that these dragons were telling the truth, that would have convinced her. "And the Skywing is Flicker." Crystal finished up with a brilliant orange dragon wearing a sarcastic expression on her snout.

"Alright, enough gawking." Kraken said, snapping the attention of his friends off of the new dragons and onto him. "We know who everybody is, la de da, that's great, but what in Pyrrhia are we going to do?"

"Let's take a vote on what we should do." Cactusflower nodded. Good idea. Kraken looked slightly miffed.

"We need something to vote on." He pointed out. Crystal frowned.

"We'll collect ideas."

"We should each collect ideas from our own group, or else you'll take them all from your friends and there won't be an equal say."

"Fine." Crystal snorted. "Any ideas?" Only one claw went up. It was the Rainwing, Rhododendron. "Rhododendron?" Crystal said.

"We should all team up since we know everybody and that would be so great because we could save Pyrrhia TOGETHER and then the queens would be all like 'thank you you're all so great' and there'll be TWICE AS MANY OF US, and we can catch the villian and save the day and what do you think?" The Rainwing breathlessly cried. Crystal nodded.

"Okay, teaming up will be one option. Anybody else?" No more claws were raised. "Okay. Your turn." Crystal let Kraken take charge to collect ideas from his friends.

"Who has a suggestion?" Nobody did. Kraken stepped back. "Okay...all in favor of teaming up, raise your claw!" Cactusflower did, followed by Monsoon and most of the other dragons in the clearing. She couldn't say that she particularly liked all of these new dragons, but teaming up would be very efficient. Only the Skywings did not raise their claws, which, Cactusflower supposed, was because the were Skywings, an overall grumpy tribe.

"Then I guess that's what we're doing." Crystal said. "Now let's get a move on to the Mudwing kingdom. We don't have any more time to waste!"


	34. Chapter 34-Rhododendron

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

 **Rhododendron**

Rhododendron was literally jumping up and down for joy. Her idea had been accepted, they were all going to fulfill the prophecy together! Life was amazing. New dragons, new dragons, new dragons! She glanced around. Ooh, it was SO exciting! Yellows and pinks pinwheeled wildly on her scales. She heard an irritated sniff next to her. Oh, right, it was that handsome grumpy Skywing she was holding!

"Ugh, would you turn down the light show and leave me in peace?" The Skywing grumbled. Wait, didn't this dragon have a name? Rhododendron was fairly certain that he had a name. What was it...Tempest! She remembered now! He was so miserably unhappy! She felt sorry for him. And she was going to cheer him up! She giggled quietly. Making dragons happy was her LIFE! Tempest sniffed again. "Didn't you hear me? Release my arm!" Obligingly, she let go.

"You're so grumpy!" She noted, still retaining a happy aura.

"Yes, and you and your little blinding scales are not helping!" Was the disgusted reply. Rhododendron didn't mind. Dragons always acted like that whenever she was happy, which was most of the time, so she was used to it.

"I'm being a positive influence!" She exclaimed giddily. "I'll make you happy eventually! I grow on dragons! Happiness is an acquired taste, but once you get enough of it, you just can't stop!" Her motto. Or, one of them, anyway. Tempest snorted.

"Oh, really? Well I've been getting quite a bit of happiness, and none of it has 'grown on me' yet." Rhododendron smiled.

"Not my kind of happiness!" She cried joyfully. Before the Skywing had a chance to respond with a grumpy retort, she bounded forward. "Shush! Crystal's talking!" She said, despite the fact that she was the one doing most of the speech.

"We don't have any more time to waste!" The Seawing without any wings didn't like that at all.

"Who said that you were giving the orders around here?!" He barked.

"Um, because I'm the LEADER. Duh." Crystal rolled her eyes. Rhododendron nodded in the crowd. It was true. They had all elected her as the leader when they had started out of the cave. The Seawing growled. He had a name, too. Rhododendron squinted, trying to remember. Kraken! Yes, he was Kraken.

"Says who?" He snapped.

"Says all of my friends who elected me when we started out on this blasted journey!" Crystal responded.

"Well, I happen to have been 'elected' by my friends, and I am the one in charge!" Kraken was a wingless Seawing, and, like Siren, he had an especially persuasive voice. Rhododendron really wanted Crystal to lead, but the magic voice power was, well, a magic voice power. Thankfully Siren was immune, seeing as she had magic voice powers too.

"How about you BOTH lead?" She suggested silkily. Kraken, too, was immune, but he could apparently see the logic in the statement.

"Fine." He grumbled. Crystal nodded. "Now!" Kraken snapped back into focus. "We need to get going to the Mud Kingdom. Pack up anything you want to bring. We're flying as soon as everybody's ready!" Crystal sniffed.

"What he said." Rhododendron didn't have any personal belongings, so she just sat watching the others, who didn't really have any either, rush around and do whatever it is that they did. Kraken and Crystal were having a little spat on the rock. Rhododendron turned her scales sky blue and muttered

"No, I'm in charge!" Then she rapidly shifted to a sea green with fluorescent stripes and mumbled "No, I am!" She loved this game! The Skywing shot her an odd look. Tempest! His name was Tempest. She kept forgetting that. Her scales turned deep red and she sniffed disdainfully. "Rainwings. Good for nothing lazy fruit-eaters." Then she broke out in hysterical laughter. "I crack myself UP!" She exclaimed cheerfully to the still staring Tempest. "Come on, let's go! Everyone is ready, and we're taking off! Whoopee!" She snatched the Skywing's arm and leapt into the air, spinning loops, all the while dragging a bewildered Tempest behind her.


	35. Chapter 35-Blizzard

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

 **Blizzard**

Blizzard really wished that Brook would talk to him. The Mudwing had been simmering quietly throughout the whole affair, and she still didn't make a sound as she flapped through the sky. He sighed. She had been so...talkative and intriguing in the cave, but apparently telling her that he and his friends had been following her and her friends had not been the right move. That had really been a moronic scene for him. He grimaced as he recalled the pathetic statements he had squeezed out. That confused him. He didn't normally get tongue-tied. Maybe the Mudwing made it hard for him to talk. So why was he vainly hoping for her to turn around and say something to him? Ugh. This was so complicated! He flew faster, catching up to Brook.

"Hi. So, um...you've met my friends. How do you like them?" Immediately, Blizzard regretted his words. What had happened to the commanding aura he had had when he had been woken by Brook? It had probably dissipated when he started thinking about her scales. Brook turned her head to look at him. He couldn't see anything in her face.

"Well enough, I suppose, for dragons who have been following my friends and I for who knows how long. Although I'm trying not to hold a grudge." She paused for a moment, closing her eyes. "There. It's gone now. I suppose I'll have to get to know them better in order to determine my opinions of them." Her voice was mellifluous, but pretty much cool and unaffected. Blizzard couldn't help the beginnings of a silly grin from breaking out on his snout. What was wrong with him? But still, she had spoken to him! Thankfully, he fought down the urge to turn loops in the sky. Unlike that canary yellow Rainwing who was flipping around with Tempest in tow, not looking extremely happy at the arrangements.

"So, your friends. They seem...excited. Well, one of them is." He gestured a talon at the Rainwing. Brook smiled faintly.

"That's just Rhododendron. She's always like that." After that comment, the sound of wingbeats and the chatter of other dragons filled the air, leaving Brook and Blizzard flying in silence for a minute or so. Blizzard was desperately trying to think of something to say that would break the silence.

"Why weren't you talking to me?" He lashed his tail. That was a stupid question. Did he sound stupid? She was going to think that he was stupid! Brook didn't seem quite as affected as Blizzard had feared she would be.

"I was angry at you. You know, like you get angry at dragons who stalk you and your friends." Blizzard opened his mouth to complain about the stalker comment, but Brook started up again before he could. "But I am over that now, and have decided to start my opinion of you over from scratch." Hooray, a second chance to impress her. Maybe he wouldn't make a fool out of himself this time. So what would he say? Brook's deep hazel eyes examined him. Blizzard's heart sped up. Why in Pyrrhia was he so muddled? He turned his gaze to the sky ahead, trying to ignore the Mudwing's steady gaze. Already he could see swamps and bogs popping up. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, the Mudwing kingdom shouldn't be far. I think we might have already arrived, so we just need to get to the queen's palace. Maybe we should stop so we can see the assassin's tactic. You know, with your and Monsoon's fire and all." Brook's eyes finally dropped. Oddly enough, now Blizzard wanted the Mudwing to look up at him. This was so confusing! He decided to put all thoughts regarding Brook on hold until he could examine them privately.

"The Mudwing kingdom? Great! Mud!" She sounded pretty enthusiastic. "Yeah, you're right...maybe I should suggest a stop to Crystal." She looked ahead at the sky blue Icewing leading the group of dragons. Blizzard's loyalty kicked in.

"And Kraken." Brook glanced back at him.

"Yes. And Kraken." She began flying a little bit faster, picking up speed, but there was no need. The heads of the parade, Crystal and Kraken, were already angling downwards.

"We're stopping!" Blizzard heard Kraken's voice call. Obediently he swerved towards the ground. He could sense Brook beside him, but refrained from looking in her direction. He didn't need any more muddle in his mind.


	36. Chapter 36-Monsoon

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

 **Monsoon**

Monsoon exhaled a small stream of flame onto the moist ground. Surprisingly, it stuck, burning steadily.

"Hm." Cactusflower said next to him. "I suppose magical prophetic fire doesn't follow the same rules as normal fire." Monsoon nodded fervently, wholeheartedly supporting that conclusion. Cactusflower was always right, as well as witty and smart. And her scales did sparkle so...not another word was spoken, however, as the other Mudwing, Brook, had alighted and breathed her own portion of prophetic fire onto the already simmering pile of flames. The flickering firelight illuminated the snouts and faces of all the assembled dragons, casting an eerie glow, despite the fact that it was daytime. It was taking all of Monsoon's self control to stare at the boring, still fire instead of Cactusflower, or the mud, or jumping into the aforementioned mud. Slowly, though, an image began to form itself on the screen of flame, drawing Monsoon's attention without a doubt.

A clearing, covered in mud and wrought with tangled bushes. The vague outline of houses could be made out in the distance. A lone dragon sat, staring at a dark sky with two glowing crescent moons and a third sliver of silver. Stars twinkled, and the dragon, a Mudwing, who appeared to have worn her thick scales for many years, dipped her head and fell asleep. Two Mudwings approached from the direction of the village, glanced at her, and a silent discussion was held. One stepped hesitantly towards the dragon, obviously Queen Moorhen, but the other held him or her back. They turned towards the village again and left the queen slumbering peacefully.

But the activity was not over yet. Another figure emerged once the two dragons had gone, this time from the right. It slunk stealthily towards the sleeping queen, only sharp and deadly claws catching the moonlight completely visible, glinting dangerously. Once the figure was positioned directly next to Queen Moorhen, it drew back one glittering talon, and sliced down towards her throat. Mudwing scales are usually difficult to penetrate, being heavily armored, but the throat was soft, and the queen was old. In one swift motion, the head was severed from the body, and rolled to a stop next to the shadowy assassin. It was a horrible sight, but a dark smile could be seen upon the assassin's snout, before it whipped around and crept back into the trees.

Monsoon felt his stomach lurch. That had been rather gruesome. He shuddered slightly. They had to stop the assassin from dooming the unsuspecting Moorhen to such a horrid fate. Kraken and Crystal seemed to agree with him.

"Let's move. Now." Kraken barked, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Crystal interrupted. "We don't know where Moorhen is going to be killed. And also, it's going to be night! It's barely afternoon now! We don't have to leave immediately! Why don't we just stay here for a little while longer and formulate a plan." Monsoon nodded. That sounded reasonable. Besides, Cactusflower was nodding, so it must have made sense. Macadamia, that smart, nervous Rainwing, added his thought.

"It's probably somewhere south of a village, based on the position of the stars." Cactusflower interjected with her own theory, which Monsoon found to be the most clever thing said all day.

"If we can find those two Mudwings who went to check on her in the fire, maybe they can tell us where the queen is at."

"And then what?" It was one of the new dragons, the Skywing. Monsoon remembered her name was Flicker. "We'll just waltz right in there and watch the queen sleep, hoping that no assassin comes in? 'Please, Mister Evil Dragon Assassin, don't kill her!' Is that the plan?" The other Sandwing, Scorpion, snorted. Monsoon didn't think that he was as smart or shimmery and beautiful as Cactusflower. But then again, no one was.

"More like, 'We're from the prophecy and we command you to stop!'" Monsoon thought that that was possibly the most foolish idea he had ever heard, and not just because Cactusflower had begun disputing it.

"Gee, great plan! Let them know that we're the ones who stopped his attempt on Queen Glacier! Then what'll they do? Say, 'Oh, pardon me, I didn't mean to intrude, go about your business, have a lovely day!' I don't think so! More likely, they'll kill us so that we can't interfere with their plans anymore!"

"She's absolutely correct!" Monsoon butted in, deciding that verbal support was just as good as nodding. The Sandwing named Scorpion looked ticked off.

"Oh yeah?" He growled, tail lashing wildly. "What are you, her…"

"That's enough arguing!" Kraken barked, intercepting. "We should stop fighting amongst ourselves. Apparently," here he shot an imperceptible look at Crystal. "We're a team now, and we have to cooperate. Macadamia came up with a plan, no more quarreling, let's get a move on! Mudwing village, save the queen tonight." The wingless Seawing turned without a word. Monsoon leaned in to whisper to Cactusflower.

"I'm still not entirely sure how we're saving Queen Moorhen." Cactusflower nodded, then scurried up next to Kraken to spread Monsoon's uncertainty.

"How, exactly, are we saving Queen Moorhen?" She helpfully repeated. Kraken shifted uncomfortably.

"Well…" He paused a moment, mid sentence, which was trailing off uncertainly anyways. "Um, the other Nightwing, what was his name, Darkmystic?" He glanced at a quiet black dragon, who nodded in confirmation. "Darkmystic just told me that we can form a protective circle around the queen, or possibly extract her from the clearing altogether."

"I think that the latter option would be better." The other Icewing, Crystal, interjected. Kraken scowled.

"Fine, then."

"Let's go!" Crystal cried. One by one, the dragon lifted off from where they had been stopping, Blizzard and Crystal each carrying a harness containing their wingless Seawing friends. Monsoon flapped after them, following mostly Cactusflower. He was going to the Mudwing Kingdom. He was going to save his queen. Maybe he would even meet his long lost sibs. He flew a little faster. He just couldn't wait.


	37. Chapter 37-Moorhen

**Something new. From the perspective of the queen who they are saving. Thought I'd try it. Sorry if she seems a little out of character. Although, always best to choose the characters that have the least elaboration on them in the book. Then you basically have free reign. Anyways, here it is!**

 **CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN**

 **MOORHEN**

Moorhen stared at the words she had scratched in the mud. _Only siblings together can save the queen of mud._ She shivered. Mudwings didn't have prophetic powers, but this felt strangely like a missing part of a prophecy. Again, her body shook. She sighed quietly. She was getting old. It had been oh so many years since she was at the top of hers, the Sandwing War Of Succession. Burn had threatened her into aiding her in the battle. So many Mudwings had died. So many...and then her dragonets had been taken. Normally, Mudwings didn't keep track of their offspring. Once they were hatched, they were left to grow up with their sibs. But, being the queen, Moorhen had kept her children with her, monitoring them, especially the daughters, so that one day, one of the princesses would succeed her as the Mudwing queen. And...the aged queen stared at the moons, before settling down in the warm, squishy mud. Sleep overtook her.

She dreamed. She dreamed of a peaceful day, the sun filtering through sparse trees and shining onto a marshy ground, where she watched four little dragonets play. Two females, two males. A small smile etched it's way onto her snout as the bigwings helped up the smallest dragonet, a tiny girl, up from where she had fallen. In the cool shade, they each blew a miniature spurt of flame, a silly thing they had done together, since discovering that they could always breathe fire. Moorhen smiled in her sleep. Everything was so happy

Then the dragons came. Out of the sky, two heavy, strong Skywings landed in the clearing and grabbed her dragonets, the youngest and the oldest. Moorhen leaped up, growling, and took a ferocious swipe at the first, who blazed a furious orange. He dodged, and, with a powerful sweep of her wings, slammed Moorhen back against a tree, where she lay, struggling to regain her consciousness. Before she passed out, she watched her babies being taken away, and roared a roar of pain and anger. Then all was black.

Moorhen awoke to a crowd of dragons. Two Mudwings, two Icewings, two Sandwings, two Nightwings...what were all of these dragons doing in her kingdom? She struggled to her feet.

"Who are you? Have you kidnapped me?" She growled. "Return me to my kingdom immediately!" Then she noticed that the swampy ground underneath her claws was the same as in the Mud Kingdom. Never mind. One of the dragons spoke up. She was an Icewing, with pure sky blue scales.

"Your majesty, we're from the Pyrrhia Prophecy. We saved your life." The prophecy? Well, that would explain the blue Icewings and wingless Seawings.

"Well, then, assuming that you are telling the truth, I thank you." Moorhen sat back down, and a silence followed. "Would any of you appreciate a reward?" Moorhen asked. This was a test. If they asked for gold or treasure, they could not be the real prophecy dragons, who would save the queens simply because it was their destiny, and they were kind and virtuous dragons. One of the Mudwings spoke up, a male.

"Can you help me find my sibs?" Moorhen nodded thoughtfully.

"Ah, yes. You would not have been raised with them. I imagine that…" The peace of the moment was broken by a spurt of flame blasting towards Moorhen. Startled, reactions told her to drop to the ground, and she listened. The fire passed directly over her head. The dragons around her, the prophecy dragons, twirled around, ready to fight. A barrage of rocks came sailing through the air, striking them down. All except the Mudwings, who shielded themselves with their wings, lying on the muddy ground like the queen. A shadowy figure stalked out of the trees, and the Mudwings growled, leaping to their feet again. Moorhen did as well, for what it was worth, the value of which dropped suddenly as the shadowy figure, a dragon, sent another burst of flame towards her, which she dodged almost successfully. She fell to the ground, grasping her burnt leg. The Mudwings lept towards the dragon, who slipped away, but not before the male and female could send identical gashes down either wing. There would be no flying for this assassin.

Once the assassin was gone, the Mudwings turned to their friends. Immediately, the male began checking the pulse of a small, female Sandwing, and the female, the blue Icewing. Slowly, the others stirred, and Moorhen determined that these were indeed the dragons from the prophecy. Why else would all those dragons from other tribes risk their life for her? Shakily regaining her footing, wincing in pain as her new burn flared up, she thanked the Mudwings profusely. "Certainly, you will find your sibs." She addressed the male. He looked excited.

"Thank you, your majesty." He bowed. "I don't remember much, but there was one other male and two females. I was dragged away at birth…" Moorhen nodded. Why was this sounding so familiar? She dismissed the thought with a wave of her talon.

"I will enlist the help of my children, Princess Marble and Prince Shale." Taking in a deep breath, she yelled in a voice that only wobbled slightly. "Marble, Shale, come here!" Immediately two dragons clambered into sight from the direction of the town and gasped. Moorhen couldn't blame them. Seeing all of these dragons surrounding their mother must have been as shocking to them as waking up surrounded by all those dragons had been for her.

"Mother!" Marble exclaimed, rushing forward. "Come on, Shale!" She beckoned impatiently. Ever since Monsoon's other dragonets had been taken, Marble had overtaken the role of the bigwings, dominating Shale's meeker personality. "What is it, Mother? Who are all of these dragons?" Monsoon huffed.

"These dragons are from the prophecy. They saved my life while you were all sitting on your duffs and fannies waiting for me to die, and now I have promised to help these Mudwings find their siblings. You are to aid them in their search. Now go." Marble opened her mouth, and would have protested, when something occurred to Shale.

"Mother." He said quietly. "Is it possible that these two Mudwings are our missing sibs? The ones that were taken all those years ago? The ones that could breath fire all the time, like in the prophecy?" Monsoon gasped. She looked at the Mudwings.

"What are your names?" The big male answered.

"I'm Monsoon." The female followed up by stating her name.

"My name is Brook." That was what she had named her missing dragonets! Could it be? Marble was irritated at the possibility of losing her rule over Shale.

"It could just be a coincidence." Marble shook her head at her scowling daughter.

"It would have to be an incredibly large coincidence. These are your lost bigwings and younger sister." One of the dragons, who had remained silent throughout the whole affair, squealed.

"Ohmygosh, Brook, this is so EXCITING! You have a brother and sister and another brother and whoopee!" From the color shifting scales, Moorhen assumed it was a Rainwing. Another dragon, a small golden Sandwing, spoke up.

"Yeah, Monsoon. You've always wanted to find your sibs, and here they are. Congratulations!" Monsoon, the male Mudwing, looked incredibly happy.

"Come now!" Moorhen cried. "We must go inform the kingdom of this exciting news!" The Mudwings exchanged worried glances.

"Your highness-I mean, Mother-we can't. We have to save the other queens of Pyrrhia." Moorhen frowned. But she could see the logic.

"Very well then." She stepped forwards and wrapped her wings around them. "Good luck on your journey, and return to me before this one usurps me." She jabbed a claw at Marble, who looked relieved that she would get to keep her authority for a little bit longer. "Now be on your way. Save the queens!" Moorhen shooed them off, and watched the dragons fly away in silence. She abruptly turned back and marched towards the village. Her remaining children followed her obligingly.

"Don't worry, Mother. I'll never leave the Mud Kingdom." Shale nudged her side. Moorhen smiled slightly. Shale was a loyal son.

"Yes." She murmured. "I know."


	38. Chapter 38-Aqua

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

 **Aqua**

Aqua silently counted to twenty before flying after the dragons. She had to stick close to the ground and the trees, so that she wouldn't be spotted, with her turquoise scales. She kept one eye towards the sky, making sure that she kept them in her sight range. For a while, they flew like this, until finally a blue Icewing issued an order and the dragons veered downwards. Aqua quickly ducked down as well, hiding herself behind a thick set of bushes and watching quietly.

Aqua had been following the dragons for days. Ever since she chanced upon the grove with the seven dragons waiting outside. She had heard some talking about the prophecy, and deduced, both from their appearances and speech, that they were from the Pyrrhia Prophecy. They would travel around the kingdoms, stopping at the Seawing palace, and she would be at home. So she watched and flew after them when they left. They had went to the Icewing kingdom, (far too cold for Aqua's tastes), and then stopped in a clearing, where they had met another group of dragons who also claimed to be from the prophecy. Aqua didn't know what to think of that, but since the other dragons had apparently resolved that matter, she just followed, awaiting the arrival of the Prophecy Dragons in the Seawing kingdom.

A wingless Seawing barked out commands. They split up, as he directed, with slight complaint from the sky blue Icewing. Some went one way, others went another, scouting out the land to ensure that there were no new surprises in store. Aqua cursed in her head. If she was discovered, who knew what those dragons would do with her! Prophecy dragons were supposed to be kind and virtuous, but Aqua didn't trust the goodness of other dragons, or ridiculous prophecy stereotypes. Luckily, they had left the two Rainwings there to scan that section of their resting place. Rainwings weren't the brightest. Although, Aqua scolded herself for still making that assumption. The female was as ditzy and cheerful as a Rainwing could be expected, but the male was much smarter than he let on, so she should probably split. Tucking her powerful tail and wings against her body, she slithered through the bushes, avoiding branches, leaves, and sticks. She only glanced up once, to check what the dragons were doing. She could see the bright yellow dragon disappearing through the underbrush, probably to report to her leader, and it appeared that the male was gone as well. _Macadamia and Rhododendron._ Aqua recited in her head. The two Rainwings from the prophecy. And thank goodness they had left. Aqua couldn't have stayed down there forever. She may have been a master at sneaking around, but one of the leaves on a prickly bush was starting to tickle her snout. Making a little more noise than she would have liked, Aqua brushed it off with a claw. But the rustling didn't stop there. Even after Aqua had lay her claw back on the grass, noises continued, until she found herself snout to snout with the male Rainwing.


	39. Chapter 39-Macadamia

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

 **Macadamia**

Macadamia had no idea what to do. Except for maybe freak out.

"Aaaaargh!" The Rainwing screamed, shifting his scales to a pure white with blinding flashes of neon, panicky lime. "Who-what-how-AAAAmmmmph!" The Seawing he had caught leaped up and wrapped her talons around his snout mid-scream, stifling his fright instantly.

"Shut it!" She hissed, dragging Macadamia with her into the bushes, after glancing furtively about. Macadamia could only emit a muffled growl before he disappeared into the underbrush.

The dragon thrust Macadamia against a tree. Macadamia did not LIKE this, he was being dragon-napped, and he was losing focus and sense.

"Why is the word 'dragon-napped'? I mean, it's not as if you're sleeping. Maybe they are asleep when you take them." Macadamia garbled.

"WHAT are you SAYING?" The dragon exclaimed.

"This is a dragon-napping!" Macadamia cried hysterically. "What do you want with me?" The dragon frowned.

"I am not dragon-napping you." She replied, flicking her tail. "I just don't want you to tell ANY of your friends that I'm here, or alert ANy dragon to my presence."

"Oh." Macadamia calmed down. "Why?" The dragon snorted.

"I'm not going to tell my life story to some dragon I don't even know!"

"You dragged into the bushes a dragon you don't even know." Macadamia pointed out.

"That's different." The dragon sniffed.

"Well, excuse me! My name is Macadamia. So, now you can tell me what you're doing following my friends and I." The dragon looked rather unhappy about it, but reluctantly told her story to Macadamia.

"My name is Aqua. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a Seawing." She spread her wings and flared her stripes. "I am...WAS a gaurd at the Seawing Deep Palace. I was...banished." Aqua shifted uncomfortably. "WHY I was banished is not important. So I came out of the ocean and onto the land, for the first time, and...I got lost. But then I came upon you and your friends at the tree cluster, and you seemed to know what you were doing, and I was almost discovered. But I'm much better at concealing my presence now. Anyway, I heard you talking about being from the prophecy and fulfilling it and whatever, as you left, so I figured that you would stop at the Seawing kingdom, and I could be home." Aqua finished by folding her wings tightly against her and fixing an obstinate look on her snout.

"Aren't you banished from the Sea Kingdom? Why would you want to go back?" Macadamia pointed out. Aqua didn't reply. She simply stared at him as if it was obvious, which Macadamia found rather frustrating, but dropped the subject, seeing as there wasn't much conversation if only one dragon would talk. Actually, he wasn't quite sure where to bring the conversation now, and decided to take this time to examine Aqua.

The Seawing was a pale silvery turquoise color with specks of deep blue and lavender, quite unusual for her tribe. Her swirling stripes and patterns glowed with a faint turquoise light, and her powerful tail was thrashing just a bit, why, Macadamia did not know. He suddenly felt very self conscious. Aqua was a rather stunning dragon, and, though he tried to get some suntime every day, Macadamia's scales lacked luster. Saving Pyrrhia's royalty didn't leave much time for napping. Macadamia could practically feel a shy rose color creeping from his snout to his tail, and fruitlessly tried to quench it.

"Why are you turning that color?" Aqua noticed. Macadamia wished he could think of something smooth to reply with, but his intelligence did not extend to his social skills.

"I'm nervous." He gulped. Aqua shook her head, an amused look on her face.

"There are Rainwing scale charts at the Seawing palace, and that's not a nervous color." Macadamia cringed. She probably knew exactly what that color was. A slight smirk curled its way onto Aqua's snout. Macadamia covered his steadily brighter pink face in his rosy wings, wishing that he could regain control over his scales and disappear into the underbrush. But he never had been all that good at concealing his emotions, unless there were high stakes. What would the others think? He had let himself be dragged into the bushes without a fight, and now he was going moony-eyed and pink-winged for some dragon he had just met! He heard a slight giggle from Aqua and moaned. This was so embarrassing!


	40. Chapter 40-Auklet

**Chapter Forty**

 **Auklet**

Auklet woke with a yawn, stretching her wings. And, like every day, she gave a silent prayer of thanks, grateful to be old enough to be removed from that infernal harness her mother had hooked her up in as a dragonet. She could take care of herself now! Speaking of being old, she remembered her mother. The Seawing was getting on in years, and mostly spent her time in the royal egg chamber, reminiscing on past days while staring at the spot that an egg-smashing statue used to be. Mostly it was Auklet and Anemone who ran the kingdom now, issuing orders and commands for the tribe, although not officially queens. They would bring their mother up to the rebuilt Summer Palace with some empty scrolls and ink every now and then, and she would scratch out her fondest memories and read them to her grown daughters, who never tired of her telling them. Auklet and Anemone loved their mother very much, and had made a pact not to kill her, but let her die of age, naturally, and then decide who would inherit the throne. Auklet didn't really want to be queen, and knew that Anemone would be a great ruler, letting Auklet be part of her council and help her. That was all she wanted, and crawled out of bed to go visit her mother that morning, running these things through her head.

"Mother, good morning!" Auklet cried, rushing into the hatchery that had become Coral's residence. "How is the egg?" The egg belonged to Anemone, and Coral had resigned herself to watch over it attentively.

"Lovely, dear!" The aged Seawing exclaimed, her eyes fixated on the object in question. "In the right light, you can practically see the little dragonet squirming in there! And the egg is so beautiful! It shines like a pearl! This is going to be a gorgeous dragonet, don't you think, darling?" Coral glanced up at her daughter, who nuzzled her mother affectionately.

"Yes. Anemone is a very lucky dragon." She sat next to the queen, who wrapped her wing around her. Auklet snuggled into her side, like she had done at night when she was young, and felt like a dragonet again, staring at an egg waiting to hatch.

The peace of mother and daughter and egg was interrupted as a turquoise dragon burst into the hatchery. Auklet gasped and whirled around. So did Coral.

"Who are you and how dare you interrupt like that!" Queen Coral raged, not having lost any of her temper as the years had passed.

"Aqua! You criminal! How did you get in?!" Auklet exclaimed. "If you harmed any of the gaurds, you will rot in the dungeons for eternity! I will give you five seconds to leave before I escort you to your death!" Auklet was glad that she had inherited some of her mother's rage, which she administered when the time was right. All of this was being said in Aquatic, but the intensity and brightness of the flashing stripes gave a clear impression of the emotions being exhibited by the dragons. Up until that point, Aqua hadn't flashed anything, just stood there, looking all together not cowed enough for Auklet's taste. But now she lit up her body rapidly.

"It doesn't matter what I did, you need to leave NOW! There has been a break in the pattern. The assassin is coming for Coral next! So swallow your pride and hide! It's only a matter of time before your time is up!" Auklet didn't understand a word that Aqua was saying.

"What pattern? What in the world are you talking about?" Her mother apparently knew.

"The Pyrrhia Prophecy! We must listen to her!" Auklet frowned.

"Mother! You know as well as I do that prophecies are shams!" But the queen wasn't listening.

"Hurry!" She flashed frantically, swimming out of the hatchery clutching her daughter's egg at a speed that belied her age.

"Mother!" Auklet called after her. But the Seawing had already darted out, with Aqua in hot pursuit. Auklet growled to herself, before bounding after the queen and criminal.

Aqua quickly took the lead, and led the frustrated Auklet and trusting Coral out of the palace and into a coral reef. It was huge, teeming with life, and contained countless dragon-sized hollows that Coral obediently slipped through, with Auklet behind her.

"You…" Auklet began to flash, before Aqua flicked her tail, signaling silence. Auklet did not like taking orders from somebody that she had helped banish, but listened, for the sake of her mother, who was shooting her warning looks. Auklet stayed quiet for a long time, cramped and crouched in a little hole with sea life swirling around her. In fact, she was getting quite fed up with the secrecy. The guards were probably frantically searching for a missing princess and queen. Anemone would be distraught. She turned, rippling the water only slightly, and prepared to flare an infuriated tirade at the banished dragon who had had the audacity to first come BACK to the Sea Kingdom, and then drag two members of the royal family into the palace. But a stream of bubbles lunging downwards caught her attention, and Aqua's as well. The criminal emitted a growl, which transformed into gargled bubbles, and darted out of the cave. Auklet followed, along with her mother.

At the bottom of the sea floor lay a small, dark bottle. As the pressures of the deep closed in on the delicate glass, tiny cracks and fissures appeared on the surface. Aqua was incredibly distraught by this, to put it lightly, and snatched the bottle in her talons. Auklet and her mother flashed thousands of questions at the upset dragon, who had begun swimming up with all of her might, but all of the complaints and curiosity were lost. Aqua didn't look back once, just kept doggedly and determinedly paddled to the surface.

Upon breaking through the water, Auklet saw Aqua, swimming again, the bottle clutched tightly in her talons, furiously flapping towards the mainland. Auklet didn't know what else to do, except for maybe follow her. She started out, but Coral lay a claw on her shoulder.

"Auklet! It's no use trying to catch up with her. What would we do once we did? We should head back to the palace, and gather some soldiers to find the returned criminal. Your sister must be getting worried, and besides, I still have this." Coral held up the egg. "It's not safe. Come." Coral turned and swam away. Auklet bobbed in the water for a moment, then sighed. Her mother was right. Glancing once back at the direction Aqua had paddled, Auklet wondered what the Seawing would do with that bottle. Then she dove into the sea, and was gone.


	41. Chapter 41-Flicker

**CHAPTER FORTY-ONE**

 **FLICKER**

Flicker watched the water anxiously, along with everyone else. When would that silly Seawing get there? Her tail thrashed back and forth, nearly nailing a few of the silly dragons fool enough to get in her way. In other words, the disturbed Skywing and twitchy Rainwing. Flicker didn't care enough to remember their names. Although, she was starting to realize that she might be saddled with these strangers for longer than she thought. There were still about four queens left to save, presuming that the Seawing had succeeded in her mission. Flicker was getting more and more worried. She had told Crystal that they couldn't trust that Aqua character! Who cared if she was the only dragon they knew that was familiar with the Seawing palace? Siren and that other dragon, Kraken, should have persisted more. They were going to fail all because of one untrustworthy dragon, who was probably in league with the assassin they had sent her to stop!

Flicker's fears were assuaged when a shimmering turquoise shape appeared in the distance, swimming rapidly towards the shore. Aqua swam and swam, finally heaving herself onto the land.

"Here!" She cried, talons outstretched, revealing a bottle filled with a dark, simmering liquid.

"Good!" Everyone chorused, and the fire breathers stepped forward, including Flicker. Aqua dropped the bottle like it was flaming, which it promptly was. As Flicker exhaled her burning fire onto the bottle, she remembered the explanation provided by that twitchy Macadamia fellow. The bottle apparently contained an acidic poison, which came from an 'elder-sap' tree. The poison was harmless to dragons, but, if released into water, would contaminate it, and whoever breathed or drank that water would die. The assassin apparently planned to commit a mass murder, not just killing one queen, but everyone and everything that lived in the sea. In fact, all of the water in Pyrrhia! That sort of cruelty, Flicker couldn't even fathom. It made burning the bottle of poison into a pile of melted glass and bubbling black goop. Fire was the only thing capable of destroying the elder poison. That made Flicker feel like she had quite a bit of power. And power was good.

Once the bottle was reduced into a steaming batch of sizzling stuff, rapidly cooling, all of the fire breathers stepped back and caught their breath. Aqua, who obviously hadn't been doing anything, began to talk.

"Thank goodness that crisis is over! I still don't understand why you had me hide the queen. I wasn't filled in on anything about the assassin's plan except for what I had to do and stop!"

"That's because," Flicker panted. "You don't NEED to know anything. Because nobody trusts you. Because you're a lying escaped CRIMINAL." Aqua frowned.

"Look, I understand why-" WHOOM!


	42. Chapter 42-Siren

**Chapter Forty-Two**

 **Siren**

Siren leaped back in shock as a huge black dragon dropped out of the sky and slammed on top of Aqua. A moment passed as the dragon rolled his menacing gaze over each and every one of the dragons assembled. Then he growled and, with a huge flap of his wings, shot off back into the sky, leaving Aqua lying on the ground, with several scratches and holes from where the dragon's claws had punctured her scales. Macadamia immediately sprang forward, a pale green sickeningly spreading across his body. Siren felt bad for the poor Seawing, as well as the Rainwing fretting over her. It had been obvious to everybody that Macadamia had been smitten with Aqua the moment he introduced her and told her story to the others. And now she definitely wasn't doing well.

"Into the sea!" Kraken barked. "Get her into the sea!" Macadamia glanced up from where he was crouched next to the moaning Aqua, then obediently scooped her up and carried her to the water. Or tried to. The Rainwing wasn't the strongest, and Blizzard and Crystal had to relieve him of the burden of Aqua and take her to the lapping waves.

As the salty ocean lapped over Aqua's scales, she groaned and began twitching. Siren bounded into the water next to her, and began splashing her fellow Seawing persistently. Slowly, Aqua began to stand up, only to wince and drop back down, clutching her front leg.

"I think…" She muttered, gritting her teeth. "I think that my leg is broken." Siren felt it, then nodded.

"Indeed it is." Aqua grumbled quietly.

"But she'll be okay, right? Please tell me she'll be okay!" Macadamia jumped in, worry spiraling wildly across his scales, along with a few whorls of uncomfortable pink when Aqua cocked her head to look at him.

"Yes, she'll be fine." Kraken stepped in. Siren nodded.

"The water will help heal her. She will just need a lot of rest. Don't worry." Obediently, Macadamia calmed down, toning his scales to pale pink.

"But," Kraken continued for Siren. "But! She will require rest. Aqua will not be able to accompany us for the rest of this trip." Macadamia was crestfallen.

"Why not?"

"Because she's injured!" Crystal explained. "Relax. We'll find a cave that Aqua can stay in, hidden and safe, until she's well. At which point we will probably have already saved all of the queens, and can come visit her. It'll work out." The anxious shudders that had wracked Macadamia's body ceased slowly. Oddly enough, the twitchy Rainwing seemed more concerned for Aqua's safety then Aqua was.

"Okay." He turned to Aqua. "There's a little cave on the cliff-face over there. No one should be able to find you."

"Great." Aqua grunted. Wordlessly, Siren bounded over to one of the packs and snatched the sling previously used to carry her around. She fit it underneath Aqua, then beckoned for Crystal and Blizzard to take her to the cliff.

Macadamia wrapped his wings around himself as the strangely colored Seawing was lifted into the sky.

"Goodbye." He muttered half-heartedly. Siren noticed several of his friends shooting him confused looks, but said nothing. If they couldn't figure out that Macadamia adored Aqua, then they didn't deserve to know.

As soon as the two blue Icewings landed with an empty sling, Siren climbed on, and Crystal leaped into the sky. Hovering for a moment, she waited for the others to catch up, but not for long. Siren gazed at the quickly receding beach, hoping that the pattern would return to normal. Even if it didn't, they were going to the rainforest for sure. No dragons were going to die if Siren had anything to say.


	43. Chapter 43-Flicker

**Chapter Forty-Three**

 **Flicker**

Flicker snarled as yet again the squelching steps of the idiot dragon in front of her sprayed a thick and goopy mixture of mud and dirt all over her scales.

"That's it!" She roared, distilling the 'peaceful' aura of the rainforest. As the quotations implied, it really was noisy, humid, muggy, hot, muddy, filthy, and blindingly bright. And that was coming from a dragon with fluorescent scales. The rainforest was making everyone a bit snappish, except for the Rainwings. Macadamia and Rhododendron were swinging through the trees blithely.

"What?!" Crystal, the dragon in front of her, spun around, furious. Being an Icewing, the heat was exceptionally bothersome to her.

"If you splash mud on me one more time, I will personally tear your snout off!" Flicker snapped back.

"Don't be a dragonet!" Crystal growled. Flicker frowned as the procession stopped moving, allowing her and Crystal to argue freely.

"This place is awful!" She complained.

"Oh, hush up! Look at Blizzard! He's an Icewing, just like me, and you don't see HIM whining his scales off!" Crystal gestured a seething talon in the deep blue Icewing's direction.

"That's because he's too busy staring at BROOK!" Blizzard flared his wings in protest, even though that was exactly what he was doing.

"Hey!"

"Please!" Flicker cried. "It's not like it's a secret! Everybody KNOWS that you have a HUGE crush on her!" Brook, the dragon in question and reciever of that 'HUGE crush', started, then turned to look at Blizzard with levels of curiosity, surprise, and more mixed in her eyes.

"Me?" The Mudwing exclaimed.

"Yes, you! Yeah, the dragon who's SO much worse than everybody else! Get over it! And don't give me that look! I've lived with most of the dragon's here for eleven years, and I know how they act! Except for that one." Flicker cocked her head at Darkmystic. "I bet he isn't really mute, just too stupid to talk!" She could tell her comments were inciting all present, even the normally peaceful one's, like Siren.

"If you're going to be mean, maybe you should just go cool down by yourself!" Siren declared hysterically.

"Maybe I will!" Flicker cried, baring her teeth. "I'm sick of the lot of you anyway! You all can save Queen Glory on your own! I'll be just outside of the rainforest, if anyone needs me! WHICH you probably will, since all of you are completely USELESS! Goodbye!" With a final, decided thwack of her powerful tail, which sprayed mud on everybody, Flicker stalked out of the rainforest. Head held high, eyes snootily shut, the Skywing was out of the infernal cesspool of color before she even knew it. And then she tripped over a tree.


	44. Chapter 44-Earthquake

**Chapter Forty-Four**

 **Earthquake**

Earthquake winced as the bright orange dragon ran into his tree. It was a big tree, and he wasn't entirely sure if he was justified in calling it 'his tree'. More like 'his prison'.

"Are you alright?" He called from underneath the thick bark. The dragon only snorted a wisp of smoke as she got to her feet, ferociously shaking herself to get all of the mud off.

"No, I've broken twenty ribs and fractured my skull." With a final shake, the dragon turned around to face him. "It's a thrice-cursed tree! I'm fine. And it would be none of your business if I wasn't. As it is, it's none of your business anyway." Earthquake smiled.

"Sorry. My name's Earthquake. What's yours?"

"And why should I tell you that?" The dragon sniffed, eyeing him shrewdly. Earthquake held up his talons.

"Does it look like I'm going anywhere?" The dragon seemed to realize for the first time that the Mudwing she was conversing with was trapped under the gigantic tree.

"Not really." The dragon examined him some more. "Alright, my name is Flicker." Earthquake rolled that name around in his head a few times, liking it.

"Nice to meet you, Flicker. I'm guessing you're a Skywing."

"I'm guessing you're a Mudwing." Flicker replied. Earthquake grinned again.

"How could you tell?"

"Because you're drab and brown and utterly filthy." Flicker returned smoothly.

"Really? I could tell that you were a Skywing because you're bright and witty, with powerful wings and intelligent eyes." Earthquake wasn't being a flirtatious flatterer, just frank. He quite liked this dragon.

"Oh, is that so? How lovely. Now, can't say that these few minutes haven't been fun, but I have to go check on my friends. They're terribly helpless without me." Flicker turned to go.

"Wait!" Earthquake called after her. Again, he lifted his talons helplessly. "Could you maybe help me out from under here?" Flicker sighed.

"Fine. Don't let it be said that the prophecy dragons are not merciful and stuff." As the fluorescent dragon stomped closer, Earthquake perked up.

"You're from the prophecy! Moons!" Flicker quite seemed to like the awe that clouded over Earthquake's face as he realized he was in the presence of a big hero.

"Yes." She replied, spreading her wings out just a tad to catch the light dramatically. Before Earthquake could continue that conversation, Flicker shoved the tree forcefully. Earthquake felt it roll off of his back.

"Thank you!" He cried, leaping up, suddenly wishing he had a more imposing figure. As it was, he was small and wiry, but incredibly grateful to this incredible dragon.

"Now that you're out and about, I really have to go check on my friends." Flicker faced the rainforest and started walking.

"Your friends…" Earthquake murmured, trying to remember something important. "Your friends! Oh no, are they from the prophecy too?!" Flicker swiveled back around to face the little Mudwing.

"Yes." Earthquake gasped. "What?" Flicker cried. "What is it?!"

"The dragon who put me under that tree!" Earthquake exclaimed. "He said he was the assassin!" Flicker started.

"You met the assassin?" Earthquake nodded.

"He also said that this time, he wasn't just going to kill Queen Glory, but the prophecy dragons too! With a giant tree falling on them! This dragon really likes trees." Earthquake added the last part as a side comment, but the message was clear.

"Moons!" Flicker roared, panic rising in her angry voice. "I have to save them!"

"Can I come?!" Earthquake yelped. Flicker glanced at him appraisingly.

"Whatever. I don't have time to waste arguing with you if I say no. So keep up!" With one stroke of her massive wings, Flicker leaped into the air, gliding over the treetops of the rainforest. Earthquake lashed his tail, then spread his scrawnier wings and followed her. A steady warm feeling was creeping through his scales. He was starting to think that this dragon was pretty amazing!


	45. Chapter 45-Brook

**Chapter Forty-Five**

 **Brook**

Brook landed next to Blizzard with a quiet thud. Everyone had positioned themselves at different points around the Rainwing village, keeping an eye out for where the assassin would strike. The lazy, chameleon-like dragons, although improved after Glory became queen, didn't take much notice. It was suntime, though, so all of the fruit-eaters were lounging around, snoozing in the sun's heavenly glow.

Brook had taken this position because she wanted to talk to Blizzard about the events in the rainforest, before Flicker had stormed out. The Skywing had accused Blizzard of liking Brook. The Mudwing still wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Blizzard?" She said softly. He spun around.

"Brook!"

"Any sign of the assassin yet?" Brook asked, uncomfortably attempting to begin a conversation.

"No." Blizzard replied, fidgeting slightly.

"Alright." Brook murmured. She sat down next to him, and could practically feel him tensing up. She wished she could calm him down, but this kind of awkward, twitchy behavior was what Blizzard usually exhibited around her. Why did he like her? DID he even like her? Or was he just one of those dragons who didn't care about useless dragons and were accused by ticked off Skywings of having a crush on one of the aforementioned useless dragons? Brook really had no way of knowing, and wished she had mind reading abilities.

Both dragons, blue and brown, perched in silence for a while, staring intensely at the dense, colorful scenery, desperately trying to ignore each other and puzzle out answers to whirling questions.

"Is it true?" Brook finally blurted. Blizzard started.

"Is what true?" He asked.

"What Flicker said back there...that you…" Brook trailed off. She wasn't sure whether or not she wanted it to be true. Blizzard was nice enough, to be sure, but...Brook just didn't know.

Blizzard lashed his spike covered tail, radiating waves of cold. Brook watched his snout work up in crinkled positions, contemplating the answer. Or what answer wouldn't embarrass him. Brook nudged him softly.

"It's a yes or no question." Blizzard turned his arctic eyes to her. His gaze lingered on hers for a few moments. Finally he opened his mouth, most likely to answer. But Brook didn't hear what he said. He didn't even get it out. Because a gigantic tree was falling towards them.

Brook heard voices yelling and shouting. She saw a flash of bright orange scales in the sky. She saw Blizzard's wings wrapping around her. Then the world was lost in cool blue, dark brown, and, finally, black.


	46. Chapter 46-Blizzard

**Chapter Forty-Six**

 **Blizzard**

Blizzard slowly came to. At first, his vision was blurry, and every part of his being ached like it was on fire. He wondered if he was dead. But then, as his head cleared, he saw that he was actually inside of a tree. By sheer luck, his scales had been hard enough to, accompanied by his spiky, icicle-like horns, puncture the tree. Which apparently was hollow. Lucky him.

He felt even luckier when he realized that he still had Brook wrapped inside his wings, safe and sound. Both of them had been knocked unconscious, but only he had woken up. He checked her pulse, then breathed a sigh of relief when he found one. It was faint, though, and he had to get her to a healer immediately.

Putting one ear to the wall, he heard scrabbling, as voices argued and claws scratched, trying to figure out how to lift the collapsed tree. With a start, Blizzard realized that if they tried to roll the tree out of the way, which would probably be the final solution, then he and Brook would be tossed around like icy penguins in an oversized snow globe. And Blizzard did not want a new occupation as a bashed and dented penguin. Plus, Brook looked like her health was waning, and her consciousness definitely wasn't waxing.

Blizzard didn't know what to do. Or even to feel. On the one talon, Brook was injured and probably going to die and he wasn't going to be able to save her in time and his world was collapsing! But on the other talon, he was slightly grateful that the tree crashing had interrupted him telling Brook how he really felt.

Blizzard didn't like to think like that. Time was wasting, and he had to save Brook! Besides, it was about time that he was honest with himself, and with the object of his affection. If he and Brook both survived this, he would tell her that he really was in love with her. It wasn't a passing crush, Blizzard was fairly certain about that. It was just sweet, throbbing, pulsing devotion that he could feel stirring in his chest every time he looked at her. It was what he had noticed that Monsoon had for Cactusflower, and what Macadamia had developed for Aqua. Blizzard loved Brook, and he wasn't about to let her die.

Taking a deep breath in, he worked his jaw until he could feel a huge, icy storm building up in his chest. Before he exhaled the deadly frost breath onto the tree walls to make it brittle, he glanced around. And realized how small the space was. Just like…

No. He wasn't going to…

Cramped…

Closing in…

Icy walls...

Alone…

Abandoned…

Then claws digging him out of the avalanche.

Staring at the broken, silvery bodies of his parents…

Blizzard crumpled, recalling every horrifying detail about that day.

He had been exploring a new mountain tunnel with his parents. He had bounded ahead, careless dragonet that he was, and ran into a sheer wall of ice. His tail had waved around, smashing the ice with his spikes. And it all came crumbling down.

The Prophets had found him later that day, half dead, covered in icy boulders. Stuck in a frozen avalanche. His parents hadn't made it.

Blizzard gasped. He couldn't do this. He was going to die. Then his eyes darted to Brook. The Mudwing was barely breathing. And Blizzard knew that he had to get over it. For Brook. For Brook. For Brok.

He chanted that in his head as he slowly worked up his frost breath again. Exhaling steadily, the tree walls turned pale blue, covered with ice. Thin, brittle, easily broken by a sharp jab of his tail. Which Blizzard did.

Tasting freedom, and hot rainforest air, Blizzard stumbled out of the hole he had made and widened, Brook clutched tightly in his wings.

"Blizzard!" He heard, but his vision was blurry and he couldn't tell which one of his friends was yelling his name. "And Brook!"

"Brook…" Blizzard whispered. "Help her."

"It's okay." Blizzard felt her being slowly eased out of his grasp.

"Get her to the healer's hut!" Somebody yelped. "And him." Blizzard was slowly lifted up.

"It's okay." He murmured. "I'm...fine." And then he passed out.


	47. Chapter 46(Continued)-Blizzard

**Blook! Finally! This was disturbingly fun to write, but completely appropriate. No fear. And contains my own opinions on what love is. REAL love. Sweet and wonderful, whether for a spouse, sibling, parent, or even close friend. If you would be devastated if they died. Devotion. Pure, simple, love. And my romance writing still stinks, I think, but I still like doing it! I think something is wrong with me.**

 **Chapter Forty-Six (Continued)**

 **Blizzard**

Blizzard awoke on a cushion of leaves. He was sore, exhausted, and, above all, worried.

"Brook!" He started up, then collapsed back on the bed as his head flared in sharp, stinging pain. "Is Brook...alright?" He muttered weakly. Then he realized that he was in the healer's hut, and no one else was there.

"Yes. I'm fine." Correction. No one else was there...except for Brook. Craning his neck, he saw her lying in another bed, not far from his.

"Good." He mumbled.

"It was nice of you to worry." The chocolate Mudwing murmured. Blizzard was slightly uncomfortable. He still loved Brook, that was for sure, but after all that had happened today, the situation just seemed a little...awkward. He just desperately hoped that she wouldn't bring up-

"You never answered my question." Brook's soft, weak voice lilted.

"What question?" Blizzard anxiously asked.

"About what Flicker said in the rainforest. Is it true? Do you have a...crush on me?" Brook seemed a little unsteady in asking the question, as if afraid what the answer was going to be. Blizzard was afraid, too. He almost pretended that he had fallen back asleep, but then remembered the promise that he had made to himself, back when he was trapped in the tree.

"No." Blizzard responded, truthfully. Brook raised her head to look at him, and he met her eyes shakily. "It's not a crush. A crush is a fleeting moment of affection for another. The moment I saw you, I thought you were beautiful and amazing. And the longer I knew you, the more I liked you. Every time I look at you, my feelings multiply tenfold. When we were trapped in the tree, I had a panic attack. I thought I was going to die. And then I thought that you would die with me. And then I knew that I couldn't let that happen to you, that I would forget my fears, and even lose my own life if it meant I could save yours. Real love, what I have, is pure and sweet and simple. Not lust, not a crush, for the first is obsessive and the other swift. But love. I've finally sorted myself out, and realized that I love you. And I can't keep it bottled up, now that I know for certain. Once again, Brook, I love you. There, I said it. Please don't hate me." Blizzard dropped his eyes, slightly embarrassed, but fully honest. After a while, he glanced back up at Brook. What was she thinking? And then a smile graced her snout.

"What?" Blizzard asked, fearful of being rejected. Her deep hazel eyes peered into his.

"I never realized how beautiful your scales are." And then Blizzard smiled, too.

He reached out a shaky wing, and she met it with hers. Their tails wrapped around each other's across the room, heedless of his icy scales and harsh spikes. And they fell asleep like that. As Blizzard eyes closed, he felt like the most blissful and luckiest dragon in all of Pyrrhia.


	48. Chapter 47-Rhododendron

**Chapter Forty-Seven**

 **Rhododendron**

Rhododendron peeked into the healer's hut, then giggled. She skipped away with a smile on her snout, but then again, she always smiled.

"Blizzard and Brook, sitting in a cave…" She sang underneath her breath, beaming widely at the fact that her shy, quiet friend had finally found some romance and excitement in her life! Love was good. Up there with happiness!

"The two lovebirds are awaaaaaaaaaake!" She bellowed musically. A healing dragon rushed past her, and she stopped him.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "When will Blizzard and Brook be ready to go out and save another queen? There are only two left!" It took a while for the Rainwing to register what she had said, but he finally answered, after several more comments directed towards no one in particular from Rhododendron about how lucky it was that she was patient.

"The two strange dragons in Room Three are not going to be able to leave the hut for at least five weeks."

"That's like...a month!" Rhododendron shrieked. "Uh oh. Maybe Crystal and Snap Crackle Pop (or whoever that Seawing is) will want to know this!"

She leaped away, bearing the news to the dragons in question.

"Five WEEKS?!" Crystal roared. "We don't have that kind of time! What in Pyrrhia are we going to do?!"

"We're going to have to leave them here." Kraken replied grimly.

"Kraken! That is the most…"

"WAit," Rhododendron interrupted. "So your name ISN'T Snap Crackle Pop? SHOCker!" But neither of them payed any heed to her.

"I know what it sounds like." Kraken growled. "But if you think about it, it's the best option we have. The Rainwings and Nightwings will take excellent care of Blizzard and Brook, and if we don't embark soon, two queens will die without us to protect and save them. It's pretty much our only option." Crystal rattled her spikes in frustration, but saw his point.

"Fine." She snapped. "But don't get all smug just because this was your idea. Anyone could have thought of it. Even Rhododendron." She gestured an upset talon at Rhododendron, who shook her head.

"Probably not." She replied cheerfully.

"Whatever. We'd better leave soon. I'll go inform the others." With that, Crystal stalked off.

"Razzmatazz and sunshine!" Rhododendron cried out randomly and happily as she tumbled after the seething blue Icewing.


	49. Chapter 48-Darkmystic

**Side comment: what currency do the dragons of Pyrrhia use? I have no idea, so I just used plain old gold for this chapter. Introducing a new OC, who shares a name with another author's OC, featured in a stunning story called WoF: Trailblazing by The Friendly Space Mariner. Anyways, I'm starting to realize that this is getting kinda long. I want to thank anyone who has made it this far in my story. Trust me, I sometimes have a hard time reading really long stories. Unless they're really good. However, I doubt that my story has that captivating quality, so I totally understand if you don't stick with it. Maybe I'll make a second part once I reach fifty...have I reached fifty? I don't know. ANYways, here it is!**

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

DARKMYSTIC

Darkmystic panted heavily as the hot desert sun beat down on his shoulders. He was definitely not used to this heat.

 _Can we...slow down...or maybe...take a...rest break?_ He gasped inside Crystal's head, then, as an afterthought, Kraken's.

"No! We're almost there!" Barked the two in unison, seemingly randomly. They attracted some odd looks from the other remaining ten in the group. An audible exclamation of confusion came from Earthquake, the scrawny Mudwing Flicker had saved outside the rainforest. Darkmystic still wasn't quite used to his presence, but was adapting. It was also strange not to have Brook with them.

Crystal and Kraken glared at each other, obviously offended by the other having the same thought.

"Talking to Darkmystic. Come on, pick up the pace!" Crystal grumbled.

Heeding the angry words of both the Seawing and Icewing, the group flapped double time and arrived in the Sand Kingdom.

Thanks to Monsoon's prophetic fire, they knew exactly where and when the assassin would strike. And it would be later that day. Knowing that Queen Thorn would be the victim of a well-aimed knife at sunset wasn't entirely comforting, but knowing that it would happen during the aged queen's stroll through the crowded streets of the Sandwing capitol certainly was. They could just sit back, relax, and wait for the assassin to come so that they could tackle him (or her).

Until then, they needed some lunch. Exhilarated at being in their natural territory, the two Sandwings in the company, Cactusflower and Scorpion, decided to have a go at catching lizards. In the middle of their fruitless attempts at capturing the speedy fiends, Crystal quietly asked Darkmystic to purchase some water and fruits in the market.

Happily accepting the chance to escape the boring but slightly amusing exhibit of amature lizard catching, Darkmystic had obliged.

Now, ducking and weaving frantically through the net of thrashing venomous tails, Darkmystic wished that he had remained with the others. Clutching tightly the leather satchel that contained the group's gold coins, the dark black dragon poked his head out of the sea of shimmering pale scales to locate a rickety wooden stall boasting a wide variety of tough dried desert fruits.

Ducking back down, Darkmystic hustled quickly to the stall.

"Ah, hello there, young sir! What brings you down to our sandy dunes, Nightwing?" Cried the stall owner, a hulking Sandwing with shimmery white scales.

 _Umm, touring Pyrrhia, that sort of thing. Now, I'll have...two of...everything._ Even whilst counting and running sums in his head, Darkmystic was careful to move his mouth as if he was speaking, not projecting words into the dragon's brain.

Looking a tad confused, the stall owner knocked a talon on the side of his head, as it to clear out an ear.

"You got a loud voice there, kid. Sounds like you're talking right inside my head!" Boomed the Sandwing.

 _Yes, ha ha. I get that alot. Now...uh, the fruit?_ Darkmystic said, anxious to get this done as quickly as possible.

"Yeah. That'll be...well, how much you got?" A little surprised at the strange way of running things, Darkmystic responded politely.

 _Just a second, let me check…_ Bringing up his arm, Darkmystic prepared to do some quick counting of the bag's contents, only to discover that it was not there!

Terrified he turned to the stall owner. _My money...I…_ Spotting a barbed tail slithering down the street with a familiar looking bag on it, he growled inside his head. To the stall owner: _Hold on._

Almost desperately, he took off down the street after the thief, dodging angry threats and sharp tails. Finally, the thief turned down an alleyway, and Darkmystic, smoldering, turned after them.

 _Hey! You! Give me back my money!_ He yelped into the thief's mind, still cautious to move his lips.

"Why? You certainly don't need it, well fed and hydrated as you are." Came the tart response.

The thief was a Sandwing, small, wiry, and female. Her scales were a pale gold with unique black and brown speckles down her back. Heavily scarred wings faded into tan, and a poisonous tail glittered dangerously, the leather bag hanging tauntingly from it.

 _For your information, I have twelve friends in the desert right now counting on the gold in that bag to get them some food and water!_ Darkmystic stormed.

"Really?" The thief asked, arching the scaly ridges above her eyes.

Darkmystic growled, but no sound came out. The thief laughed.

"What's the matter? Sand snake got your tongue?"

In his irritated and slightly fearful state, Darkmystic threw caution to the wind, snapping into the sneaky Sandwing's mind without bothering to move his mouth.

 _Yes! Now GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!_ He projected sharply. As soon as he had spoken, he remembered why he was being so careful with his mind-speaking.

If the knowledge that the prophecy dragons was released, the assassin would probably hear, and maybe even change his or her plan, or capture and kill Darkmystic and his friends! He desperately hoped that this dragon was stupider than she looked and wouldn't put two and two…

"What's wrong with your voice? Your mouth's not moving, you can't make noise, you just are like...projecting your voice into my...no voice...Nightwing...by all the snakes!" Her eyes widened, not exactly with fear, but surprise and something else.

Frantically trying to turn the conversation back to the bag, Darkmystic spoke again, this time more careful.

 _I NEED that bag._ He said, wishing with all his might that this dragon would just give it back and he could go on his way.

"Not unless," the thief grinned craftily, eyes gleaming. "You want me to reveal to the entire population that the prophecy dragons are right outside the city." Darkmystic's eyes narrowed. This was a difficult situation.

They glared at each other for Darkmystic reached a decision.

 _Who are you, you little urchin?_ He hissed.

"Dust."

And then black leapt towards gold, sand flew, silent roars were uttered, and starry wings unfurled.


	50. Chapter 49-Dust

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

DUST

Dust landed on the sand with a thump. Spitting out gritty grains of sand, she flicked her tail, sending the leather bag skidding into the ground.

"Whoops! There goes your stupid bag-oh, crud!" She snapped, starting saucily and ending with irritation, seeing where the confounded Nightwing had brought her. He was probably a year or two older than her, bigger, but in all appearances, he was as weak as he was nervous and easily irritated.

So how did that foolish dragon lift her up and drag her here, where all these dragons, different tribes, probably from the prophecy, were? She may have been small, but she was scrappy, sly, and strong. Was she going easy on him? Probably. She had never actually killed anyone, so fighting someone who was so clearly outmatched by her had thrown her off, and she hadn't been as vicious as she should have. So, here she was.

"Darkmystic." Stated a high voice as a sky blue and very spiky dragon stepped forward. "Who is this?"

Before the Nightwing could respond, Dust replied sharply.

"I'm Dust, and your friend here seemed to think that it would be a good idea to attack me, grab me, and drag me out here, all because of some stinking bag!"

 _The bag containing our money!_ Darkmystic exclaimed in her mind.

"Oh, that justifies everything!" Jeered Dust, deciding that she would try to be as contrary as possible to get them to throw her out as soon as possible. Being a thief on the streets was preferable to being scrutinized by two drab dragons, a queer blue dragon, two wingless turquoisey dragons, two extremely colorful dragons, two grumpy and contrary dragons with huge wings, two dark black dragons that she knew to be Nightwings (including Darkmystic), and two very skeptical Sandwings. Having never spent much time outside of the Sandwing capitol, she had never identified the names and appearances of other tribes, only seeing the occasional fleeting glimpses of foreign envoys. Nightwings she knew. Others, she didn't. But that was beside the point. The point was, Dust wanted out.

"Alright, that's enough." One of the wingless dragons, a male, interjected before a full-scale argument could erupt. "Darkmystic, tell me what happened."

The dark dragon closed his eyes and began broadcasting the events into the other dragon's head. Dust watched closely, trying to add her own obnoxious comments whenever their expressions reached an important appearance. Finally, Darkmystic opened his eyes in conclusion, and the other turned to the blue spiky dragon.

Dust sensed that they were the leaders, so, most likely, the male was communing to the female what Darkmystic had said, and then, she assumed, they would decide what to do with her.

Dust couldn't care less what they decided. If worse came to worse, she would be able to fight her way through most of them. As the two dragons argued and discussed, Dust headed for the two Sandwings. Perhaps she could figure something out from conferring with her fellow tribe members. Like the fastest route away from the group.

"Hello." She began bluntly. The male regarded her coldly, but the female was a little more friendly. And, Dust observed, a large Mudwing practically stuck to her.

"Hello. I'm Cactusflower." The female said.

"You look shifty." The male commented.

"Thanks." Dust said blandly. Cactusflower cracked a smile.

"That's Scorpion." Cactusflower jabbed her tail in the direction of the male, who wasn't looking any friendlier than earlier. "And this is Monsoon." The tail shifted to point at the bulky Mudwing next to her.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Dust." Although the Sandwing probably already knew that, Dust realized.

Continuing, she lowered her voice to a whisper and pointed her tail towards a grumpy red dragon.

"So what's with that guy?" Dust whispered.

"That's Tempest. He's a Skywing. A horrid disposition is kind of his thing." Cactusflower smirked. Dust nodded.

"So, how good is everybody at fighting?" She asked. There was no subtler way of putting it. Either escape was possible or it wasn't.

Cactusflower seemed a little stumped by the nature of the question. Thankfully, she answered anyway.

"Most of us aren't really experts, but Crystal's got supernatural strength. But we can all hold our own in combat just fine." Dust nodded thoughtfully. Avoid whoever Crystal was, and get out as fast as possible to avoid discovering how well everyone could 'hold their own'.

"Thanks." Dust said.

And she launched herself into the sky.


	51. Chapter 50-Cactusflower

**And here it is, the last chapter in this edition! I've decided to split it in two, seeing how long it's getting. So, whoever has stuck with this story, thank you, first of all, and keep your eyes open!**

CHAPTER FIFTY

CACTUSFLOWER

Cactusflower cursed inside her head as the pale gold dragon launched into the air. She hadn't even thought those scarred tan wings could get the blasted Sandwing off of the ground!

Propelling herself up and after Dust, she shot a plume of fire into the air to attract the attention of her other friends.

They swivelled to look, but by the time they had turned around Cactusflower had already zoomed through the fading flames and out of sight, rapidly pursuing Dust through the bright desert skies.

Teeth clenched, Cactusflower flapped steadily and quickly. The wiry Dust knew all sorts of tricks, like suddenly dropping down and then swerving up as soon as Cactusflower dove to follow. Dust was fast, but so was Cactusflower.

Suddenly, Dust veered sideways and down, towards the roof of a building with a color scheme strange enough to effectively disguise the queerly designed Sandwing.

Pretending not to notice, Cactusflower continued forwards until she was directly above the tricky Dust. Hovering for a moment, she checked that Dust had settled flat against the roof.

Then Cactusflower folded her wings tightly against her and dropped like a stone.

Wind whistling against her, she fell for several feet before yanking her wings out to slow herself and thudding directly on top of the unsuspecting Dust, talons wrapped around her throat.

"Got you." She growled, panting slightly as she caught her breath. But many days of hardened flying had steeled her, and she quickly regained control of her racing heart after the frantic chase.

"Let me go! I didn't do anything! You all have your filthy gold!" Dust hissed, writhing underneath Cactusflower's iron grip.

"But you know about the prophecy dragons being right outside the city gates. And we DEFINITELY don't trust you not to spill to the entire populace of the Sandwing capitol." Cactusflower snarled.

"Oh, is that all? Fine, I swear not to tell anybody about your whereabouts for as long as I have accurate information of what they are." Dust sniffed.

"Not good enough." Cactusflower barked, tightening her talons.

"What do want?! A blood oath?!" Dust bellowed.

"A solemn one on the three moons will do." Cactusflower snapped back.

"ALRIGHT!" Dust screeched. "I solemnly swear on Pyrrhia's three moons that I shall not disclose the whereabouts of the prophecy dragons so long as I am aware of what they are."

Satisfied, Cactusflower let go. Dust stood up, shaking herself distastefully.

"No hard feelings?" Cactusflower called as Dust spread her wings to leave.

"None at all." Dust smirked.

Moments after the pale gold dragon had lifted herself into the sky and disappeared, Monsoon slammed to a stop on the roof next to her.

"Are you alright?" Was the first thing out of his mouth.

"Yes." Cactusflower reassured him.

"Where's Dust?" Monsoon asked, less anxiously than his initial inquiry.

"Gone." Cactusflower answered simply.

"Dead?" Slightly worried.

"No."

"But-"

"Don't worry." Cactusflower rested her talon on his arm gently. "I made her promise to keep quiet. We'll be safe." Monsoon looked at her, and for the first time she noticed the tenderness there.

"I hope so."


	52. IMPORTANT NOTICE!

**Hello, to all my readers! This fic has been discontinued.  
Sort of.  
Let me explain:  
I noticed this was getting kind of long. I know sometimes I lose interest in a story after about ten chapters or so, and I don't want to bore you like that.  
So, after I realized that this story has hit fifty chapters, I decided to split it into two parts.  
Never fear! Check out The Pyrrhia Prophecy Part Two by The Anonymouse2 (me) to continue the story!  
Just wanted to let you all know in case you missed the second part, saw it said completed, and then wondered what the hello kitty the author was doing! The story isn't completed! Far from it!  
Hope you all go check that out to see what happens to Crystal, Kraken, Tempest, and the rest of the game!  
Valve!  
Sincerely,  
The Anonymouse2**


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